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DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR PROLIFERATIVE THYROID LESIONS IN BONY FISHES
Citation:
Fournie, J W., M. J. Wolfe, J. Wolf, L A. Courtney, R D. Johnson, AND W. E. Hawkins. DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR PROLIFERATIVE THYROID LESIONS IN BONY FISHES. Presented at 22nd Annual Meeting of the Society of Toxicologic Pathology, Savannah, GA, Jun 16-20, 2003.
Description:
Criteria for distinguishing hyperplastic thyroid lesions from thyroid neoplasia in bony fishes have long been debated by scientists. Confusion exists because the thyroid tissue in most teleosts is unencapsulated, is occasionally found in ectopic sites, and is frequently predisposed to extensive hyperplastic proliferation. In order to simplify and standardize the diagnosis of proliferative thyroid disease in fishes, and to clarify some of the uncertainty regarding lesion interpretation, we propose specific criteria for distinguishing hyperplastic from neoplastic thyroid lesions in teleosts. These criteria are derived from the collective experience of pathologists who are well versed in fish tumor pathology, the examination of a large series of proliferative lesions from medaka, and a re-examination of proliferative thyroid lesions from bony fishes in the Registry of Tumors in Lower Animals (RTLA) collection. Specific diagnostic criteria are provided for the primary lesion categories of follicular cell hyperplasia, adenoma, and carcinoma, as well as for several proposed sub-categories, including: simple, nodular, and ectopic forms of thyroid hyperplasia; solid and papillary forms of thyroid adenoma; and well- and poorly-differentiated forms of thyroid carcinoma.