Diagnosis of clival chordoma by fine needle aspiration of an oropharyngeal mass. A case report.

A sphenooccipital chordoma presenting as a large nasopharyngeal mass extending into the oropharynx was diagnosed by transoral fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) and confirmed by subsequent histologic studies. The cytologic features of chordoma are presented, and the diagnostic utility of FNAB in evaluating similar lesions in the head and neck region is discussed.