Fine-needle aspiration cytology diagnosis of paraganglioma (carotid body tumor)

Abstract

A case of carotid body tumor was diagnosed based on fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in 22-year-old female who presented with a mass in the right lower cervical region. Provisional diagnosis was made as metastatic deposits. However, this case was diagnosed on FNAC as carotid body tumor due to the presence of definite diagnostic features on cytology like hemorrhagic aspirate, with clusters and as well as discrete cells, which are round to oval with moderate anisokaryosis, indistinct cell outlines, stippled chromatin and fine granular cytoplasm. Focal attempted acinar formation was also seen. Based on these cytologic findings and the location of the swelling, a diagnosis of carotid body tumor was made. The diagnosis was confirmed on histopathological examination. Carotid body tumor is arising from the chief cells of the carotid body, which is situated at the bifurcation of the common carotid artery. Though the fine needle aspiration was seldom suggested for the diagnosis of carotid body tumor due to its location, there were no complications during the procedure in this case. As the role of FNAC in the diagnosis of carotid body, tumor is minimized due to the severe bleeding complications of the procedure and only few cases were reported in the literature until now. However in this case, the main diagnosis was made by FNAC without any complications.