The primary indication of fine-needle aspiration cytology of the head and neck region is a thyroid nodule or a mass located in the cervical area or the head. Although a thyroid nodule may raise the suspicion of malignancy, less than one in 20 cases results in a carcinoma. In addition, the list of differential diagnoses is quite different according to the age of the patient. A number of benign lesions, such as branchial cysts, sialadenosis, and sialoadenitis are often seen in childhood and youth. The malignant lesions that are on the top of the list of a pediatric mass of the head and neck (H&N) region include rhabdomyosarcoma, neuroblastoma, and papillary carcinoma of the thyroid gland. This critical review of the diagnostic features of a pediatric mass of the H&N region is accompanied by panels of several cytology features that may be of help to the cytopathologist and clinician.

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To evaluate our experience with the cytodiagnosis of primary lung cancers by transthoracic fine‐needle aspiration (TFNA), 106 bronchogenic carcinomas (BC) and 6 neuroendocrine tumors of the lung (NTL) with adequate needle aspirates were reviewed. The cytodiagnostic accuracy rates of BCs were 75.5%, 72%, 100%, 53%, and 50% for bronchogenic adenocarcinomas, squamous‐cell carcinomas, small‐cell carcinomas, large‐cell carcinomas, and mixed carcinomas, respectively. Of the 6 NTLs, 4 typical carcinoid tumors (CT) were correctly diagnosed, 1 atypical CT was wrongly identified as small‐cell carcinoma, and 1 large‐cell NTL was mistaken for an adenocarcinoma. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2000;23:431–434. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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Over an 18 month period, 50 'high risk' patients with solitary or dominant cold thyroid nodules on 99m Tcpertechnetate scanning, have undergone fine needle aspiration biopsy cytology (ABC) under general anaesthetic prior to thyroidectomy . Histological malignancy was confirmed in only four patients (8%). Cytological malignancy was suspected or confirmed in six patients, each having a false positive rate of 4%. There were no false negative reports. Ultrasonography, performed pre-operatively in 37 of the patients, did not significantly add to the overall patient management. ABC appears to be safe, simple and sufficiently accurate to incorporate its use routinely in the pre-operative assessment of thyroid nodules.