Maxillary odontogenic myxoma: a diagnostic pitfall on aspiration cytology.
A painless, slow-growing cheek swelling in a young male clinically considered a salivary gland mass was aspirated. Cytology smears were hypocellular. The striking feature was abundant myxoid material with a few monomorphic oval cells, interpreted as myxoid variant of pleomorphic adenoma. Subsequent CT scan was suggestive of a malignant tumor but biopsy confirmed it as myxoma. Myxoma of the jaw is a rare benign tumor that has a tendency for bone destruction, invasion into surrounding structures, and a relatively high recurrence rate. Maxillary myxoma is less frequent but behaves more aggressively than in the mandible, as it spreads through the maxillary sinus. Cytologically, it should be differentiated from other tumors showing predominant myxoid change. Awareness of potential diagnostic pitfalls and careful evaluation of clinical and radiological data is necessary to narrow the differential diagnosis.
Cytopathology Unit, Department of Pathology, Maulana Azad Medical College and Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi, India. kumar_neeta@hotmail.com
Neeta
N
Kumar
Shyama
S
Jain
Sunita
S
Gupta
D008949:Adenoma, Pleomorphic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008441:Maxillary Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008443:Maxillary Sinus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D009232:Myxoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D009808:Odontogenic Tumors / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D012468:Salivary Gland Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed