thyroid follicular epithelium and colloid
Hurtle cell tumours of the thyroid
up to 50% of poorly differentiated and anaplastic carcinomas of the thyroid
some medullary carcinomas of the thyroid: see calcitonin
Antibodies to thyroglobulin do not react with epithelial cells of the lung, breast, gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, kidney or with the carcinomas of these organs. A case of moderate immunoreactivity in one ovarian serous papillary carcinoma from a series of seventeen has been reported1.
Diagnostic utility
Identification of primary and metastatic carcinomas of the thyroid. If staining occurs selectively at the periphery of a tumour within the thyroid, it is probably artefactual due to diffusion of thyroglobulin from the surrounding thyroid.
In combination with calcitonin, to identify medullary carcinomas of the thyroid.
In combination with thyroid transcription factor-1, to differentiated between primary thyroid and lung neoplasms. Those well differentiated thyroid neoplasms which are likely to be TTF-1 positive are also likely to be positive for thyroglobulin. Rarely, anaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid may be positive for TTF-1 but negative for thyroglobulin2. We have seen a thyroid carcinomas that progressively lost its immunoreactivity for thyroglobulin in sequential metastases while retaining positivity for TTF-1. Another patient had a papillary carcinoma that was focally negative for thyroglobulin, resulting in a fine needle aspirate that was TTF-1-positive / thyroglobulin negative.
References
This page last revised 3002006
©SMUHT/PW Bishop