Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of bone: initial diagnosis by aspiration biopsy cytology

Aspiration biopsy cytology by fine needle is becoming a popular diagnostic procedure for soft-tissue lesions; it also can be used successfully to diagnose some lesions from bone. The value of this procedure for making the initial diagnosis is illustrated by a case in which a malignant fibrous histiocytoma from a skull bone afflicted with Paget's disease was aspirated and interpreted as a sarcoma. This was later confirmed and subclassified by histology and electron microscopy from the tissue.