Needle aspiration cytology of sebaceous carcinoma

Sebaceous carcinoma is uncommon and usually presents in the ocular adnexae as cancer of the meibomian glands. That cutaneous sebaceous carcinoma generally occurs along with other epidermal elements has caused some nosologic confusion; tumors in which sebaceous elements predominate are encountered rarely. They are aggressive tumors in any location but particularly around the ocular adnexae, necessitating wide excision and careful follow-up to detect metastases. At our institution two such tumors were excised recently, one from the eyelid and one from previously irradiated skin. Subsequent metastases were detected without difficulty on needle aspiration cytology, which produced characteristic epithelial cells with bubbly , lipid-rich cytoplasm. The cytologic, histologic and ultrastructural appearances of these tumors that are suited to diagnosis on fine needle aspirates are reported.