Fine-needle aspiration of a presacral myelolipoma: A case presentation with flow cytometry and immunohistochemical studies

Abstract

Myelolipomas are benign soft‐tissue tumors predominantly found in the adrenal gland. Extra‐adrenal myelolipomas are rare, with about 30 previous cases reported. Approximately half of the reported cases were located in the presacral region. These were usually found at autopsy or during the workup of vague abdominal symptoms. Histologically, these lesions show bone marrow elements, with adipose tissue and scattered lymphoid aggregates. Radiologically‐guided fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) is helpful in establishing the diagnosis, thus obviating resection in some patients. We report on a case of an incidental presacral myelolipoma that underwent examination by computer tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, FNA, and immunohistochemical staining. This lesion was also analyzed by flow cytometry. To our knowledge, the use of the latter technique in the characterization of such tumors has not been previously reported. Diagn. Cytopathol. 1999;20:47–51. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Presacral Myelolipoma

“…Myelolipoma is a rare, well-capsulated, benign tumour that contains mature adipose tissue and various combinations of trilineage haematopoietic cells (red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets) 1,2 . It manifests in four distinct clinicopathologic patterns: isolated adrenal myelolipoma, adrenal myelolipoma with haemorrhage, extra-adrenal myelolipoma and myelolipoma associated with other adrenal disease 3 .…”

An Unusual Fat-Containing Presacral Tumor in an Elderly Patient

“…They are histologically indistinguishable from their adrenal counterpart and resemble the bone marrow tissue [1, 2]. …”

“…Myelolipomas are benign tumors composed of both mature adipose and hematopoietic elements, most commonly occurring in the adrenal glands [1, 2]. …”

Multifocal Intra-abdominal Extra-adrenal Myelolipoma Diagnosed by Fine Needle Aspiration: A Case Report and Literature Review

“…2 The typical EAML is a solitary, welldefined mass in the abdomen, most commonly in the retroperitoneal presacral area. [5][6][7][8][9] However, EAML have been reported in various locations of the body, including retroperitoneum, mesentery, stomach, spleen, liver, kidney, mediastinum, lung, and chest wall. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Myelolipomas are non-functioning tumors and are often asymptomatic.…”