Spontaneous Infarction of Benign Salivary Gland Tumors: A Series of 5 Cases.

Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a commonly used rapid diagnostic modality for diagnosing salivary gland tumors. Accurate fine-needle aspiration cytology diagnosis of salivary gland neoplasm can be challenging due to the presence of various metaplasia and infarction. Post-FNAC infarction is a known phenomenon in salivary gland tumors; however, spontaneous infarction is a rare occurrence. Here, we report five cases of benign salivary gland neoplasms with spontaneous infarction, diagnosed on cytological examination. Clinical findings were recorded; cytological examination and histological correlation were performed, emphasizing the characteristic features suggestive of infarction in these cases. Changes related to infarction, such as the presence of metaplastic squamous cells, small atypical cells, bare nuclei, necrotic debris with inflammatory cells, should be paid attention to during cytological examination, and the possibility of infarction should be kept in mind before labeling such cases as malignancy. These features mask the characteristic morphology of benign salivary gland neoplasms, raising suspicion of malignant change, hence posing a cytological diagnostic challenge.