Introduction. Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common malignancy of the thyroid. An accurate cytological diagnosis is based on distinctive cytological features in combination with immunocytochemistry. Methods. A number of 83 fine needle aspirations, positive for papillary thyroid cancer (44 from thyroid nodules and 39 from cervical lymph nodes), were studied using Thin Layer Cytology. A panel of the immunomarkers Cytokeratin-19, Galectin-3, HBME1, CD-44, CD-56, and E-Cadherin was performed. Results. Positive expression of CK-19 was observed in 77 cases (92.7%), of Galectin-3 in 74 cases (89.1%), of HBME1 in 65 (78.3%), and of CD-44 in 72 cases (86.7%). Loss of expression of CD-56 was observed in 80 cases (96.4%) and of E-cadherin in 78 (93.9%). Conclusions. Our data suggest that Thin Layer Cytology increases the diagnostic accuracy in papillary carcinoma and seems to be a promising technique for further investigation of thyroid lesions permitting the possibility to use archive material. Positive immunoexpression of CK-19, Galectin-3, HBME-1, and CD-44 improves the diagnostic accuracy of papillary thyroid cancer. Furthermore, loss of E-cadherin and of CD-56 expression is a feature of malignancy.
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