Pulmonary hamartoma: Cytological study of a case and literature review

Pulmonary hamartomas are the most common but rare benign tumor-like lesions of the lung arising from the embryonic rest. They are more common in males and in aged. Majority are asymptomatic and seen as coin lesions with popcorn calcification in the chest radiograph. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) helps to diagnose and distinguish them from the cancerous lesions of the lung. The cytological material is characterized by fibromyxoid stroma, cartilage, bronchial cells, adipose tissue and bone. Bronchial cells with reactive atypia may be a source of false-positive result. Symptomatic cases need surgical intervention such as enucleation or segmental resection. We report a case of a 74-year-old male who had a lung mass that did not progress over 4-year on chest radiograph. The CT-guided FNAC smears showed benign bronchial epithelial cells, fibro-myxoid spindle cell stroma and fat spaces that aided the diagnosis of pulmonary hamartoma avoiding surgical intervention.