FNA thoraco-abdominal mass: Askin tumor


Drs. Prolla and Diehl's INTERESTING CASE OF THE MONTH July 2003 case C


200x and 500x Papanicolaou staining, notice the rosette formation

500x Papanicolaou staining

500x M-G-G staining

500x M-G-G staining

500x M-G-G staining, notice the absence of nucleoli

This is a small round blue cell tumor, with rosette formation. Cytology features: very cellular smears, the cells occur mostly as loose sheets, but also as dispersed single cells, with mitoses and few apoptotic bodies. The small tumour cells have round (or molded) nuclei with somewhat coarse granular chromatin, and inconspicuous nucleoli. The rosettelike structures lack the typical fibrillar material at their center, as seen in cases of neuroblastoma. Histopathology revealed an Ewing sarcoma/PNET pattern. Immunochemistry: Neuron-specific enolase (+), Vimentin (+), LCA (-), Synaptophysin (-), Desmin (-). This pattern suggests the diagnosis of Ewing sarcoma family of tumors (ESFT), and excludes lymphoma or muscle derived tumor.The Ewing sarcoma family of tumors (ESFT) includes Ewing sarcoma, peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor, neuroepithelioma, atypical Ewing sarcoma, and as in this case, Askin tumor (a thoraco-abdominal wall tumor).



Case A July 2003 Case B July 2003 References List of cases Atlas
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1