title: Osteoclastomalike giant cell tumor of the parotid gland: report of a case with fine needle aspiration diagnosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Osteoclastomalike giant cell tumor of the parotid gland has been reported rarely. The tumor has occurred rarely at many sites, such as thyroid, pancreas, soft tissue, breast, skin, heart, colon, lung, kidney, ovary and bladder. The exact origin of the tumor is unclear. However, osteoclastlike giant cells have been considered either part of a stromal process reactive to a neoplasm or a component of a primary neoplasm.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 35-year-old female presented with a mass in the left parotid gland clinically diagnosed as a pleomorphic adenoma. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) was advised before surgical excision. FNA smears revealed numerous osteoclastlike, multinucleated giant cells and many malignant-looking mononuclear cells. The smears were diagnosed as positive for malignancy, suggestive of osteoclastomalike giant cell tumor. The tumor was excised, and histopathologic study confirmed the cytologic diagnosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The cytologic findings of osteoclastomalike giant cell tumor of the parotid gland have not been previously reported. FNA aided the diagnosis and planning of treatment. FNA is important in the diagnosis of parotid tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shiraz Medical School and Cancer Research Institute, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, I.R. Iran. torabins@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Simin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Torabinezad
authors.forename: Perikala V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Seyed Baseer
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Hashemi
authors.forename: Abbass
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahimi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D005260:Female; D005870:Giant Cell Tumors / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D010010:Osteoclasts / Q000473:pathology; D010306:Parotid Gland / Q000473:pathology*; D010307:Parotid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology