ATYPICAL LIPOMA AS A POTENTIAL PITFALL IN THE CYTODIAGNOSIS OF SUBCUTANEOUS TUMORS - A REPORT OF 2 CASES

BACKGROUND: If well-differentiated liposarcomas of lipomalike type occ ur in the subcutis, they behave as benign neoplasms. For these tumors the term atypical lipoma was introduced in 1975. Fine needle aspiratio n (FNA) findings in these tumors may raise a false impression of malig nancy. CASES: Females aged 34 and 48 years presented with well-defined subcutaneous nodules in the left supraclavicular region and on top of the head, respectively FNA showed fragments of mature fat tissue and numerous dispersed, large, hyperchromatic, often bizarre nuclei. Lipom a with atypical cells was diagnosed cytologically in one case and atyp ical lipoma in the other. Histologically both cases were evaluated as atypical lipoma. CONCLUSION: A correct cytologic diagnosis atypical li poma can be established if cytomorphologic features are coupled with c linical data.