Revista de citología e histología

Diagnosis of Subcutaneous Metastatic Deposits by Fine Needle Aspiration

Abstract

Bita Geramizadeh, Saeed Marzban, Nazanin Karamifar, Navid Omidifar, Mansooreh Shokripour and Mohammad Reza Mokhtareh

Objectives: Subcutaneous tissue is an uncommon site of metastasis. Overall it can be seen in 0.8-4% of the malignancies. Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) is a method for the diagnosis of subcutaneous metastasis and to exclude other differential diagnoses such as primary cutaneous tumors or inflammatory process. In this study we want to report our experience with Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) of subcutaneous metastasis in 25 patients with known malignancy. Study design: During 3 years, among more than 10000 cytology cases, we had 25 patients with different types of malignancy who were referred with subcutaneous nodules. FNA was performed. Results: In these 25 patients, there were 15 males and 10 female patients (22-80 years of age). Most common malignancy was breast cancer and the most common site of metastasis was subcutaneous tissue of chest wall. FNAC was 100% accurate for the diagnosis of subcutaneous metastasis. There were no false positive and false negative cases. Discussion and conclusion: FNAC is an accurate, noninvasive and fast method for the diagnosis of subcutaneous metastasis in the patients with a known malignancy without any complication.