Carcinoma of temporal bone, base of the skull: Diagnosis by needle aspiration cytology

We report on a 68-yr-old male with a destructive bone lesion involving the temporal bone at the skull base extending to surrounding osseous structures and rite infratemporal fossa, defined by needle aspiration cytology as car cinoma in association with inflammatory reaction, bacterial type, and bolts destruction. The technique of the aspiration, which was performed by a cyt opathologist directing a spinal needle into the region of tile destroyed te mporal bone as outlined in the radiographs of prior magnetic resonance imag ing (MRI), is discussed. The application of this technique in the cytologic sampling of deeper lesions usually of soft or ossecus tissues not accessib le to ordinary fine-needle aspiration is presented. There is also a brief d iscussion of neoplastic lesions involving the temporal bone at the skull ba se and the anatomic concerns in sampling lesions in this difficult-to-appro ach region of the body. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.