Tall cell variant of papillary carcinoma arising from a thyroglossal cyst: report of a case with diagnosis by fine needle aspiration cytology.

BACKGROUND: Papillary carcinoma arising from a thyroglossal duct cyst (TDC) is the most frequent malignancy arising from this embryologic remnant of the thyroglossal duct. The preoperative fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of such neoplasms has rarely been cited. Approximately 170 TDC cases have been reported in the literature worldwide, diagnosed solely on histopathology. CASE: A 63-year-old woman presented with an anterior midline neck mass of years' duration. A hypodense cyst was located at the level of the hyoid bone. FNAC of the midline neck mass showed bloody, mucoid material and numerous atypical, elongated cells. The aspirated material was reported as "papillary carcinoma possibly arising from the thyroglossal duct," and the diagnosis was confirmed by histopathologic investigation on resection material. CONCLUSION: Tall cell variant is a rare variant of papillary carcinoma and has a poor prognosis. The differential diagnosis includes Hürthle cell lesions, oncocytic papillary thyroid carcinoma and Warthin-like papillary carcinoma.

Oropharyngeal chordoma diagnosed by fine needle aspiration: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Due to its rarity, chordoma may be difficult to differentiate from other neoplasms with a similiar myxoid background. We describe a case of chordoma involving the oropharynx inferiorly that was diagnosed by transoral fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology (FNAC) and confirmed by histologic studies. This appears to be 1 of the few reported applications of FNA in the diagnosis of chordoma of the oropharynx in the English-language literature. CASE: A 50-year-old male presented with nocturnal dyspnea and rare hemoptysis for 6 months. A hypodense mass was located in the left posterior side of the oropharynx. FNAC of the mass showed classic physaliferous cells with a bubbly appearance and myxoid fibrillary background. The aspirate was reported as "myxoid tumor suggestive of chordoma," as confirmed by histopathologic investigation of the excisional biopsy. CONCLUSION: The cytologic features of chordoma are quite characteristic, especially on May-Grünwald-Giemsa (MGG)-stained slides. The cytoplasmic vacuoles of the physaliferous cells and the mucoid matrix of the tumor become conspicuous on MGG staining. When Papanicolaou staining is used as the only staining procedure, the cytoplasmic vacuoles of the physaliferous cells and mucoid matrix of chordomas may be overlooked. The differential diagnosis of myxoid tumors is of utmost importance for therapy and prognosis.