Cytopathology-histopathology of the mediastinum: epithelial, lymphoproliferative, and germ cell neoplasms.

The last several years have witnessed an increase in reports regarding the pathology and classification of mediastinal neoplasms that heretofore have received relatively scant attention in comparison to tumors from other anatomic locations. Some of these, such as thymoma, remain controversial and contentious subjects. The sampling and diagnosis of mediastinal tumors using the technique of fine-needle aspiration biopsy has not gained acceptance among radiologists, surgeons, and pathologists to the degree it has for tumors of the thyroid or breast. Thus, the literature regarding aspiration cytopathology of mediastinal neoplasms is extremely limited. This report focuses on the salient cytopathologic features of epithelial, lymphoid, and germ cell tumors of the mediastinum and correlates the cytomorphology with their histologic equivalent.