title: Fine-needle aspiration findings in nodular myositis: a case report.
abstract: Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is frequently the initial diagnostic modality for the workup of suspected metastatic disease in subcutaneous or deeper soft tissues. The technique is less well-accepted for the diagnosis of primary soft-tissue lesions. Occasionally during the investigation of suspected metastatic disease, primary processes of the soft tissues will undergo FNA. Thus, familiarity with the cytomorphology of soft-tissue reparative and neoplastic lesions is important. A variety of reparative and degenerative entities exist within the soft tissues, one of which is localized nodular myositis. This lesion may be a precursor of generalized polymyositis, including polymyositis associated with graft vs. host disease, or it may remain a localized process. Aspirates from localized nodular myositis demonstrate fragments of striated muscle including degenerating and regenerative myocytes, a mixed inflammatory background, and necrotic debris. Cytologic identification of this lesion can be therapeutically important, particularly in post-bone marrow transplant patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84132, USA.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Layfield
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crim
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gupta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology*; D009220:Myositis / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*