Fine‐needle aspiration biopsy of endometriosis of the abdominal wall: A potential diagnostic pitfall

Aziz Z, Zared Aziz, Don Wang, Wang D, Wang Don
Diagnostic cytopathology · 2010 · vol. 39(6) , pp. 443–445 · doi:10.1002/dc.21458 · PMID:20730899 · W2020048810
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 7 in-corpus citations
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This case report details an instance where endometriosis of the abdominal wall, diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy, was initially misidentified as adenocarcinoma due to atypical cytological features.

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Abstract

Endometriosis is a relatively common disease in women, usually of reproductive age. In rare occasions, endometriosis may occur in unusual body sites, including extragonadal, extra-pelvic sites, or in the skin. We report a case of endometriosis of the abdominal wall diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). The patient was a 41-year-old woman with a clinical impression of "desmoid" tumor of the abdominal wall. FNAB showed groups of epithelial cells with mild nuclear atypia and rare mitoses. A few small clusters of slightly atypical spindle cells were also seen. The initial screening impression was adenocarcinoma due to the atypical cytological features. However, after review with the pathologist, the FNAB was signed out as "endometriosis." Subsequent local excisional biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of endometriosis. In conclusion, endometriosis may present diagnostic challenges in FNAB and this possibility should be considered in differential diagnosis. A clinical cytopathological correlation is necessary to avoid a misdiagnosed as an adenocarcinoma.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Abdominal Wall Endometriosis Abdominal Wall Abdominal Wall Adult Biopsy, Fine-Needle Cesarean Section Cesarean Section Diagnosis, Differential Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Mitotic Index

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (21)

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