1990 Volume 51 Issue 6 Pages 1217-1221
A 72-year-old woman, who was pointed out for a left thyroid tumor during her ambulatory treatment by ORL for dyspnea and cervical swelling, was referred to our departmetn. The patient underwent tracheotomy because of a rapid enlargement of the tumor and worsened dyspnea after admission, and at the same time a part of the tumor was resected for pathological examination. The H.E. stain suggested an anaplastic carcinoma, however, from findings in additional immunohistological stain, the nature of the tumor cells was finally confirmed as leiomyosarcoma. The patient died without any surgical treatment. Leiomyosarcoma of the thyroid gland is difficult to be differentiated from anaplastic carcinoma, especially spindle cell type, making immunohistological staining examinations indispensable.
