Diagnosis of syncytial (lacunar cell-predominant) nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease by fine needle aspiration. A case report.

We report a case of syncytial nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease diagnosed by fine needle aspiration biopsy. To our knowledge, the cytologic findings of this unusual histologic variant have not been reported previously. We believe this entity represents a serious potential pitfall to the aspiration cytologist who targets lymph nodes. This report describes the cytologic features of syncytial nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease and emphasizes the need in general for moderate conservatism in fine needle aspiration biopsy interpretation in patients without a previously documented malignancy. It also demonstrates the superiority of tissue sampling with fine needle aspiration biopsy when compared to incisional biopsy.