CYTOLOGICAL ASPIRATION OF INTRAOCULAR RETINOBLASTOMA IN AN 11-YEAR-OLD BOY

Only a few cases of retinoblastomas in older children have been report ed and the clinical diagnosis may be difficult. In case, fine-needle a spiration from an atypical retinal mass of an 11-yr-old boy was perfor med The vitreous fluid was stained with Diff-Quik for an immediate cyt ological examination and the diagnosis of retinoblastoma was suggested . The rest of the specimen was separated into two parts. One tvas stai ned with May-Grunwald-Giemsa and the other was centrifuged, embedded i n paraffin, and finally stained with hematoxylin-eosin-safran. The und ifferentiated blue cells were associated with abundant necrotic debris and portions of capillaries with perivascular turner cells around. Th e cytoplasm of the tumor cells was strongly stained with neuron-specif ic enolase antibody. The diagnosis of retinoblastoma was confirmed. Th e specimen of enucleation confirmed the diagnosis. In conclusion, cyto logical aspiration can categorically diagnose suspected intraocular tu mors of older children in whom clinical and noninvasive investigations have failed to establish the diagnosis. Diagn. Cytopathol. 1998;19:19 0-193. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.