title: Oropharyngeal chordoma diagnosed by fine needle aspiration: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Due to its rarity, chordoma may be difficult to differentiate from other neoplasms with a similiar myxoid background. We describe a case of chordoma involving the oropharynx inferiorly that was diagnosed by transoral fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology (FNAC) and confirmed by histologic studies. This appears to be 1 of the few reported applications of FNA in the diagnosis of chordoma of the oropharynx in the English-language literature.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 50-year-old male presented with nocturnal dyspnea and rare hemoptysis for 6 months. A hypodense mass was located in the left posterior side of the oropharynx. FNAC of the mass showed classic physaliferous cells with a bubbly appearance and myxoid fibrillary background. The aspirate was reported as "myxoid tumor suggestive of chordoma," as confirmed by histopathologic investigation of the excisional biopsy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The cytologic features of chordoma are quite characteristic, especially on May-Grünwald-Giemsa (MGG)-stained slides. The cytoplasmic vacuoles of the physaliferous cells and the mucoid matrix of the tumor become conspicuous on MGG staining. When Papanicolaou staining is used as the only staining procedure, the cytoplasmic vacuoles of the physaliferous cells and mucoid matrix of chordomas may be overlooked. The differential diagnosis of myxoid tumors is of utmost importance for therapy and prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Cytology Unit, Department of Pathology, Social Security Foundation Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fulya
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Köybaşioğlu
authors.forename: Gülçin Güler
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Simşek
authors.forename: Binnur Uzmez
authors.initials: BU
authors.lastname: Onal
authors.forename: Unsal
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Ayşegül
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adabağ
mesh_terms: D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D002817:Chordoma / Q000473:pathology*; D004396:Coloring Agents; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004418:Dyspnea, Paroxysmal / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D006469:Hemoptysis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000473:pathology*; D010610:Pharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D010614:Pharynx / Q000473:pathology*; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000592:standards; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents