Fine needle aspiration cytology of intraoral epithelioid hemangioma. A report of two cases.
BACKGROUND
Epithelioid hemangioma (EH) is an uncommon, benign, vascular lesion of unknown etiology. The clinical differential diagnosis is broad and includes both epithelial and vascular neoplasms. In contrast to the histopathology of this lesion, the cytopathology, as obtained by fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB), has been described only once before.


METHODS
Two cases of EH of the oral cavity were evaluated by FNAB. The first case included histologic follow-up, while the second included immunohistochemical analysis of the aspirate material (cell block). The smear characteristics included cohesive epithelioid cells with moderate cytoplasm, ovoid nuclei and small nucleoli that formed occasional abortive vascular channels as well as spindle cell groups and a few larger cells with pleomorphic nuclei and irregular nuclear contours against a largely bloody background. Immunohistochemical staining for CD34 and factor VIII-related antigen confirmed the endothelial nature of these proliferations.


CONCLUSIONS
The cytomorphology, an endothelial immunophenotype, and the appropriate clinical presentation should permit diagnostic consideration of EH in the differential diagnosis of an endothelial lesion.
Baehner
Frederick
F
Division of Cytopathology, Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, Mount Zion Campus, 1600 Divisadero Street, Box 1656, San Francisco, California 94143-1656, USA. flbaehn@itsa.ucsf.edu
Sudilovsky
Daniel
D
D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000378:metabolism; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic / Q000378:metabolism; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018323:Hemangioendothelioma, Epithelioid / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D014841:von Willebrand Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D000097382:CD68 Molecule
D015703:Antigens, CD; D018952:Antigens, CD34; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D014841:von Willebrand Factor; C067980:CD68 antigen, human; D000097382:CD68 Molecule