Intraoperative cytology of lipoblastoma. A case report

Soft tissue tumors in infants and children often cause considerable concern to the surgeon and pathologist, especially when a rare tumor, such as lipoblastoma, is in question. Frozen section may not yield a definitive diagnosis, and the histologic picture could be deceptive, tempting one to make a false diagnosis of malignancy. Except for a single case report, no detailed cytologic study of this rare benign neoplasm appears to have been reported previously. The varied cytologic findings, as observed on imprint smears of a tumor removed from a 12-month-old boy, are presented. The differential diagnosis of childhood myxoid neoplasms is discussed briefly.