Tumoral Calcinosis at Unusual Site: Diagnosis on Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology

Abstract

Tumoral calcinosis (TC) is a rare benign clinical and histological entity. It presents as tumour-like periarticular deposits of calcium in hip, shoulder and elbow regions. Idiopathic tumoral calcinosis (TC) is different from the secondary calcium deposition associated with terminal renal diseases, hypervitaminosis D and milk alkali syndrome with disturbed calcium metabolism. There are no demonstrable abnormalities of calcium metabolism in Idiopathic TC. TC predominantly affects children and young adults and is rare in old age. When TC occurs in old patients, possibility of other differential diagnoses need to be considered and ruled out with the help of morphological examination of the tumorous swelling. Two cases of TC that occurred in 65 and 75 year old females respectively were initially diagnosed on the basis of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) findings of the swellings and later confirmed by histopathological examination of the excised tissue. Diagnostic biopsies were avoided in these patients. Cytological study can prove to be a rapid and reliable method of preoperative morphological diagnosis of tumoral calcinosis.