Cytologic diagnosis of adrenal oncocytic pheochromocytoma in a lung cancer patient: Report of a case and review of the literature

Adrenal oncocytic pheochromocytoma is an extremely rare type of pheochromocytoma. To the best of our knowledge, we present the first cytological diagnosis of this variant via fine-needle aspiration in an 81-year-old male patient who was found to have an adrenal mass while undergoing workup of the recently diagnosed lung adenocarcinoma. We describe the cytomorphologic findings in our case and provide a review of the reported cases of adrenal oncocytic pheochromocytoma – all of which appear to be benign, nonfunctional, occur in adults, and have similar morphologic features. The pathologist should be aware of this uncommon diagnostic entity and its potential diagnostic pitfalls.