Fine-needle aspiration cytology of granular cell tumor: A report of two cases

Granular cell tumors (GCTs) are uncommon soft tissue tumors, which are difficult to diagnose merely on clinical examination. Being an effective first-line investigation, the fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) plays a significant role in its pre-operative recognition. However, as the tumor is likely to mimic certain other lesions, a cytopathologist needs to be aware of its characteristic cytomorphology. We report two cases of GCT who presented with subcutaneous swellings in the left lower back and the right-sided anterior abdominal wall for 6 and 2 months, respectively. Both the patients had a clinical diagnosis of lipoma/neurofibroma. FNAC was done in both. In the first case a cytodiagnosis of xanthogranuloma was suggested and GCT in the second. Subsequent histologic examination of both showed features of GCT. FNAC would aid in presumptive diagnosis of GCT.