CYTOPATHOLOGICAL FEATURES IN OSTEOSARCOMA

In this article the material consisted of 10 fine needle aspiration applied to resection specimens diagnosed as osteosarcomas beforehand. Isolated or in loose groups, atypical ovoid and spindle cells, with eccentrically located hyperchromatic nuclei, involving coarse chromatin clumps or prominent nucleoli were observed cytopathologically. Occasional tumor giant cells, multinucleotid giant cells of osteoclastic type, various inflammatory cells and osteotid material staining as bright red granules with May-Grunwald-Gieamsa (MGG) stain, at the background were also seen. These findings were compared with those of the literature and it is concluded that these cytopathologic features, together with the clinical and radiological information, may help for the diagnosis of classical and pleomorphic type of osteosarcomas, as well as, for the differential diagnosis of these tumors from other primary bone tumors and metastatic carcinomas.

Keywords: Osteosarcoma, cytopathology of bone tumors, fine needle aspiration of bone