Abstract
A case of 52 year old woman with papillary hidradenoma of the vulva is presented. In this case cytologic approach for this lesion was strongly suggested to be useful in distinction of it from adenocarcinoma.
Her chief complaint was small vulvar nodule and intermittent bleeding from its surface. The tumor ulcerated and seemed malignant in appearance. Pap. smear was taken from the lesion with a wooden spatula. The most conspicuous cells, arranged in a sheet-like pattern, had well-defined, relatively broad cytoplasm and oval nuclei. They contained fine granular chromatin and one or more prominent nucleoli. N/C ratio was moderate, In addition, clusters of small cells with ill-defined cyanophilic cyto plasm, round uniform nuclei, and relatively large N/C ratio, and cells showing a suspected glandular arrangement were also found.
These cytological findings led us to interpretation of benign growth. In spite of the malignant appearance, local exision was performed.
The lesion was finally diagnosed as papillary hidradenoma with apocrine like structure by the histological findings in which papillary growth of single and occasionally double layers of columnar or cuboidal cells were observed with decapitation secretion in some cells and with the myoepithelial cells under the epithelial layer.
