Fine needle aspiration cytology of epithelioid variant of schwannoma--a diagnostic dilemma.

Epithelioid variant of schwannoma is a rare type of benign nerve sheath tumor which has an aggressive clinical course in comparison to the conventional schwannoma. We report one such case in a 53 year old female with an aspirate from a swelling in the nape of the neck. It posed a diagnostic dilemma because of its cellularity numerous groups of plump epithelioid cells along with multinucleated cells. The cells were lying in a myxoid stroma, coming singly and in nests and cords thus mimicking an epithelial tumor. The initial cytologic diagnosis of possibly a skin adnexal tumor was rendered. This case highlights the diagnostic pitfall encountered in the aspiration cytology of neurogenic tumors.