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Case Reports
. 2014 Oct;8(10):FD13-4.
doi: 10.7860/JCDR/2014/9696.5064. Epub 2014 Oct 20.

Pilomatrixoma masquerading as metastatic adenocarcinoma. A diagnostic pitfall on cytology

Divya Sharma  1 , Shipra Agarwal  2 , L Shyama Jain  3 , Vinay Kamal  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Pilomatrixoma masquerading as metastatic adenocarcinoma. A diagnostic pitfall on cytology

Divya Sharma et al. J Clin Diagn Res. 2014 Oct.

Abstract

Pilomatrixoma (Px) is a relatively uncommon slowly growing, benign skin appendageal tumor with a wide morphological spectrum, and can pose diagnostic difficulties especially in cases with unusual clinical presentation. We report a case of young male who presented with a nodule over anterior abdominal wall, fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) revealed predominantly small cells in focal acinar pattern suggestive of metastatic carcinoma; however, histopathological diagnosis was Px. The case highlights the diagnostic pitfalls on cytology due to limited morphology.

Keywords: Adnexal tumor; Fine needle aspiration cytology; Pilomatrixoma.

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Figures

[Table/Fig-1]:
[Table/Fig-1]:
FNA smear showing groups of small cells with scant cytoplasm and focal acinar pattern. Giemsa stain X 400
[Table/Fig-2]:
[Table/Fig-2]:
Biopsy of nodule showing small basaloid cells at the periphery with underlying ghost cells and whorling (A,B). (H&E X 400). Review of the FNA smears showing occasional squamous cell (C) and focal calcification shown by arrow (D). Giemsa stain X 400
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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