1996 Volume 35 Issue 4 Pages 309-314
A case with a very small intravascular bronchioloalveolar tumor (IVBAT) is presented. A 61-year-old female was admitted to our hospital because of an abnormal pulmonary shadow. Chest X-ray showed an approximately 1 cm in diameter peripheral nodule, suspected to be a pulmonary adenocarcinoma, in the right S 2 segment. She underwent right upper lobectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection. Histological examination of the tumor revealed IVBAT. Since the lobectomy, she has been in good health without recurrence.
In the needle aspirate, tumor cells showed several clusters in small masses or a sheet-like configuration. Tumor cells had oval nuclei and one or a few distinctive nucleoi. Chromatin was slightly dark and evenly distributed. Cytoplasm was pale green, cell borders unclear. Tumor cells had variable sized vacuoles. The outlines of large vacuoles were quite smooth, indicating vascular spaces.
The aforementioned findings correspond essentially to the cytological characteristics described in several reports on IVBAT and epithelioid hemangioendothelioma. In the cytology of IVBAT, cytoplasmic morphology is more reliable than nuclear findings. In particular, the most important features of IVBAT are (1) pale and vacuolated cytoplasm, and (2) vacuoles with smooth outlines, suggesting vascular spaces.
