Paolino Gaetano, Girolami Ilaria, Bernasconi Riccardo, Beccari Serena, Marchioni Daniele, Molteni Gabriele, De Robertis Riccardo, Ghimenton Claudio, Caliò Anna, Brunelli Matteo, Eccher Albino
Pathology Unit, Department of Pathology and Diagnostics, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Department of Otorhinolaringology and Head & Neck Surgery, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Diagn Cytopathol. 2019 Oct;47(10):1067-1071. doi: 10.1002/dc.24274. Epub 2019 Jul 10.
Synovial sarcoma arising in the pharynx is a rare entity, with very few cases described in literature, mainly as surgical-oriented case reports. We report the case of a healthy 20-year old man who presented with a painless right neck mass, clinically suspicious for a thyroid nodule. Ultrasound scan and fine-needle aspiration cytology failed to provide a definitive result, although suggesting a mesenchymal proliferation, in accordance with magnetic resonance imaging findings. Therefore, the lesion was removed with a minimally invasive surgical intervention. Definitive histologic and immunohistochemical examination of the surgical specimen revealed a biphasic synovial sarcoma, further validated by the detection of SS18 gene rearrangement on fluorescent in-situ hybridization examination. Although rarely, synovial sarcoma may arise in the pharynx. Radiological, cytological, histological and molecular findings are needed along each step of the diagnostic process.
