The Prognostic and Biological Significance of Cellular Heterogeneity in Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Study of Calcitonin, L-Dopa Decarboxylase, and Histaminase*

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Abstract
We evaluated the cellular distribution of calcitonin (CT), L-dopa decarboxylase (DDC), and histaminase [diamine oxidase (DAO)] in 33 patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). CT immunostaining was uniform (>90% of the cells) and intense (4+) in lesions from 7 patients with C-cell hyperplasia and 6 with microscopic MTC: conversely, patchy CT staining (90%) in 11 subjects who were well 0.5-16 yr postoperatively. Six patients with similar clinical presentations had heterogeneous staining for CT in primary tumor (JClin Endocrinol Metab54: 233, 1982)