Localized amyloidosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma diagnosed by fine needle aspiration and electron microscopy. A case...

The association of amyloidosis and tumors is well known, but only rarely has it been found in the nasopharynx. Moreover, only a single case of tumor-associated amyloidosis in the nasopharynx has been diagnosed by exfoliative cytology and reported in the English-language literature. We describe a case of localized amyloidosis in metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma diagnosed by fine needle aspiration and confirmed by histology and electron microscopy.

Bilateral neck enlargement appeared six months before consultation in a 57-year-old man. Both masses were resected, and during exploration of the nasopharynx, several blind biopsies were taken. Smears from the fine needle aspirate showed malignant epithelial cells, consistent with metastatic carcinoma, and Congo red stain showed the presence of amyloid. Histologic examination of the resected cervical masses and nasopharyngeal biopsies confirmed the diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, nonkeratinizing variant with amyloid, and metastases in two lymph nodes. Electron microscopic examination of a lymph node showed extracellular, ribbon-like amyloid deposits as well as masses of amorphous amyloid, apparently intracellular.

The origin of this form of amyloidosis is unclear in this patient since he had no other known etiologic factors for the condition. Increased awareness of the potential association of these two conditions and the use of fine needle aspiration may reveal a higher frequency than hitherto reported.