Conti L, et al. - This comparative trial entailed the identification of the presence and extent of the mitochondrion (mt)DNA CD in the case of thyroid Hurthle cell tumors (HCT) that underwent extensive infarction following fine needle aspiration (FNA) procedure, contrasting it with a control series of HCT lacking post-FNA ischemic/hemorrhagic alterations. The results illustrated that the rare oncocytic tumors undergoing extensive infarction were smaller than those lacking ischemic changes. They appeared to bear the mtDNA common deletion in a substantially lower proportion than the control non-infarcted HCT. Hence, mtDNA deletion possibly conferred a survival advantage to oncocytic cells in stress conditions, with the inclusion of FNA procedures.