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Fine‐needle aspiration biopsy of metastatic small cell carcinoma from extrapulmonary sites
Author(s) -
Shin Hyung Ju C.,
Caraway Nancy P.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
diagnostic cytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1097-0339
pISSN - 8755-1039
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0339(199809)19:3<177::aid-dc4>3.0.co;2-a
Subject(s) - medicine , pathology , fine needle aspiration , carcinoma , biopsy , cytopathology , metastasis , merkel cell carcinoma , primary tumor , cancer , cytology
Like a pulmonary counterpart, extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma (SCC) is an aggressive tumor with a high rate of metastasis. Forty‐nine fine‐needle aspiration biopsies (FNABs) (36 patients) of various primary sites other than the lung diagnosed as metastatic SCC (including Merkel cell carcinoma) were reviewed. FNABs were derived from lymph nodes (20), liver (7), bone (2), breast (1), pancreas (1), and skin/soft tissue (18). Primary tumor sites included the prostate (14), skin (11; Merkel cell carcinoma), cervix (5), urinary bladder (3), urethra (1), ovary (1), and parotid (1). Aspirates revealed predominantly dispersed single tumor cells with occasional clustering. Tumor cells were small with scant cytoplasm, fine powdery chromatin, and inconspicuous nucleoli. Nuclear molding, mitotic figures, and apoptotic bodies were frequently observed. In four cases, findings from the FNABs were used to render the initial diagnosis of SCC. FNAB is useful for determining whether metastases contain a SCC component, a finding that may alter clinical management. Cytologically, SCC from different primary sites cannot be differentiated, and its distinction requires clinical and radiographic correlation. Diagn. Cytopathol. 1998;19:177–181. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.