title: Optically clear nuclei in papillary carcinoma of the thyroid: demonstration of one of the fixation artifacts and its practical usefulness.
abstract: To examine whether or not optically clear nuclei are one of the fixation artifacts in papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. Experiments using an optimal immersion fixation method by making thin-sliced specimens, 5 x 2 x 2 mm in size were adopted. Fixatives tested were 10% formalin, 10% buffered formalin, mixture of alcohol and formalin (4: 1), 95% alcohol, 4% phosphate-buffered paraformaldehyde, Carnoy's fixative, Bouin's fixative and various concentrations of formalin. Tested thyroid lesions in total were: cases with papillary carcinoma (38); follicular carcinoma (one); follicular adenoma (15); adenomatous goiter (11); Hashimoto's thyroiditis (two); Grave's disease (five); and normal thyroid tissue around tumor (five). Routinely processed papillary carcinoma showed a high occurrence (64.6%) of the optically clear nuclei contrasted by a low occurrence (almost 0%) in other lesions. However, this rate in papillary carcinoma decreased (< 35.3%) in all experimental groups irrespective of the choice of fixatives. Frequent occurrence (61.9-66.6%) of the optically clear nuclei was reproduced in papillary carcinoma fixed in a higher concentration of formalin (40-60%) in the experimental groups. These results demonstrated that the optically clear nuclei are one of the fixation artifacts, although still useful as a diagnostic criterion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Sendai City Hospital,Sendai, Japan. hirosinaganuma@pop12.odn.ne.jp
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Naganuma
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Murayama
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ohtani
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takaya
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kakudo
mesh_terms: D018263:Adenocarcinoma, Follicular / Q000473:pathology; D000236:Adenoma / Q000473:pathology; D016477:Artifacts; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000473:pathology*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000473:pathology*; D005404:Fixatives; D006042:Goiter / Q000473:pathology; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000473:pathology; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D013967:Thyroiditis, Autoimmune / Q000473:pathology; D016707:Tissue Fixation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005404:Fixatives