Fine-needle aspiration of epithelioid malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (epithelioid malignant schwannoma)

Diagn Cytopathol. 1997 Sep;17(3):200-4. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0339(199709)17:3<200::aid-dc6>3.0.co;2-i.

Abstract

The epithelioid variant of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), also known as malignant epithelioid schwannoma, is a relatively rare and recently characterized clinicopathologic entity. The epithelioid variant of MPNST shares many clinical features with conventional MPNST but is characterized by different histologic and cytologic features. These include a distinctive nesting pattern and an abundance of cytoplasm not seen in histology of conventional nerve sheath tumors. Cytologically, the epitheliod variant shows a propensity to cellular discohesiveness and a plasmacytoid or epitheliod appearance that is in contradistinction to the spindled appearance of the usual MPNST. Herein, we report our experience with fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of two epithelioid malignant schwannomas and discuss the FNA cytologic differential diagnosis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Biopsy, Needle / methods*
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Nerve Sheath Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Neurilemmoma / pathology*
  • Peripheral Nervous System Neoplasms / pathology*