title: Diagnostic problems in tissues previously sampled by fine-needle aspiration.
abstract: Unusual tissue changes in needle tracts after fine-needle aspiration were studied in two specimens. One specimen, a 3.0 x 2.5 cm mesenteric nodule, was found six days after a nondiagnostic transabdominal fine-needle aspiration of a retroperitoneal mass. At frozen-section examination, the nodule had proliferating spindle-shaped cells interspersed with adipocytes that raised the possibility of well-differentiated liposarcoma. On permanent sections, however, there was fat necrosis and reactive spindle-shaped cells that immunohistochemically were consistent with myofibroblasts. In the second case, a needle tract was noted in breast tissue on which a biopsy was performed two days after a cytologic diagnosis of carcinoma. The 0.4-mm-wide tract contained neutrophils, foamy histiocytes, and clumps of intact, atypical epithelial cells without a desmoplastic or elastotic component. Aside from these epithelial cells, nothing in the biopsy specimen suggested invasive carcinoma. The cells were identical to those from a comedocarcinoma present in the biopsy and mastectomy specimens. These two cases provide examples of pitfalls that may arise during the examination of biopsy specimens obtained after fine-needle aspiration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville 22908.
authors.forename: S O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Tabbara
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Frierson
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Fechner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001707:Biopsy, Needle / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D002285:Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating / Q000473:pathology*; D004407:Dysgerminoma / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012186:Retroperitoneal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*