Fine needle aspiration cytology of primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the tongue - A case report

BACKGROUND: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of extranodal non-Hodgki n's lymphoma of the tongue has rarely been described. CASE: A 47-year-old male was referred to the cytology laboratory for FNAC o f a 3-cm-diameter swelling on the dorsum of the tongue, with a primary clin ical diagnosis of soft tissue tumor. FNAC smears showed discrete, monomorph ic, round to oval cells with scanty, deep blue cytoplasm. The nuclear margi n was regular, with occasional prominent nucleoli and fine nuclear chromati n. The background showed many lymphoglandular bodies. The cells were strong ly positive for leukocyte common antigen. A cytologic diagnosis of high gra de non-Hodgkin's (NHL) was offered and subsequently confirmed by histopatho logy. CONCLUSION: Primary NHL of the tongue is relatively rare. As there are no c haracteristic clinical features of extranodal NHL of the tongue, FNAC may b e useful for rapid diagnosis and management of such cases.