The introduction of highly sensitive imaging techniques has made it possible to detect many nonpalpable thyroid nodules (non-PTN). We investigated the value of ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (US-guided FNAB) as a diagnostic tool in the management of non-PTN as well as palpable thyroid nodules (PTN) that were considered difficult to aspirate without guidance. US-guided FNAB was performed on a total of 119 nodules (71 palpable and 48 nonpalpable) from 119 patients between 1992 and 1996. All available clinical and follow-up data were reviewed. Surgical follow-up was available in 24 cases. The patients included 100 females and 19 males ranging in age from 9 to 81 years (average, 51 years). FNA diagnoses (PTN versus non-PTN) included papillary carcinoma (12.7% [9/71] versus 4.2% [2/48], follicular neoplasm (16.9% [12/71] versus 0%), medullary carcinoma (1.4% [1/71] versus 0%), atypical cytology (5.6% [4/71] versus 2.1% [1/48], non-neoplastic thyroid (63.4% [45/71] versus 85.4% [41/48]) and unsatisfactory (0% versus 8.3% [4/48]). In 2 cases of occult papillary carcinoma, risk factors included radiation exposure (1 case) and a newly developed nodule during follow-up for hypothyroidism (1 case). Subsequent surgical follow-up (24 cases) confirmed the FNA findings, except for a case of Hürthle cell adenoma and 1 of Hashimoto's thyroiditis diagnosed as papillary carcinoma and follicular neoplasm, respectively. US-guided FNAB in most non-PTN are diagnosed as benign. For most patients with non-PTN and without any high-risk factors, a conservative approach such as clinical follow-up may be a more cost effective and logical approach. In contrast, US-guided FNAB is more useful in diagnosing biologically significant lesions in PTN that may be difficult to aspirate without guidance.

Objectives The objectives of this study included utilising a large database from a diagnostic laboratory to identify any breed, sex or age predilections for cutaneous and subcutaneous soft tissue sarcomas (STSs), and the most common anatomical locations. The second aim was to obtain clinical outcomes and to assess histological features of those tumours to identify any potentially useful prognostic indicators and propose a grading system. Methods Records from the laboratory were searched for feline submissions received from January 2012 to December 2013 diagnosed with STSs; the breed, age, sex and neuter status of the cat and anatomical location of the tumour were recorded. Clinical outcomes were acquired using a questionnaire to submitting practices, and histological features of tumours from patients with known outcomes were assessed. Results No sex, neuter status or breed predispositions were found. Most STSs arise in middle-aged and older cats, and the most common anatomical location was the trunk. Forty-seven cases had a known clinical outcome and archived tissues allowing for histological assessment of the tumour. Significant differences in median survival time (MST), mitotic index and histological score were detected between those cats that died of tumour-related disease and those that did not. A novel grading system applied to these tumours produced significant differences in MST between cats with low (MST = 900.5 days), intermediate (MST = 514 days) and high grade tumours (MST = 283 days). Conclusions and relevance This is the first study applying a histological grading system to these common tumours. Local recurrence is often the cause of a poor outcome, with metastatic disease apparently rare. The proposed grading system incorporates features that can be assessed on routine haematoxylin and eosin-stained sections; in this small study, the histological grade of the tumour appears to be associated with survival time.