Objective: To put forth the cytological features and diagnostic pitfalls of spontaneously infarcted breast lesions on fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Study Design: We present 19 cases of spontaneously infarcted breast lesions encountered on FNAC over a 5-year period. Histological follow-up was correlated wherever available. Results: The majority of cases were seen in the second decade of life. The smears in all 19 cases were cellular. The cytomorphologic findings were scattered dyscohesive cells (n = 16), ghost cells (n = 11) and necrosis (n = 10). The dyscohesive cells were small and had a normal nuclear cytoplasmic ratio with pyknotic nuclei. The presence of viable epithelial cells or stromal fragments helped in the diagnosis of the primary breast lesion and was seen in all 19 cases. Cytology diagnoses were infarcted fibroadenoma (n = 11), infarcted breast lesion (n = 3), Phyllodes tumor (n = 2), papillary lesion (n = 2) and infarcted benign breast lesion (n = 1). Histopathology was available in 13 cases, 12 were concordant and 1 was inadequate for primary diagnosis. Conclusion: An infarcted breast lesion poses diagnostic difficulties on cytology. It needs to be differentiated from inflammatory lesions and malignancy. A cytopathologist should be aware of the entity and recognize its cytomorphologic features.

Keywords:
Fine-needle aspiration cytology, Breast lesions, Spontaneous infarction, Diagnostic pitfalls
© 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel
2013
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