Elastofibroma dorsi has distinct cytomorphologic features, making diagnostic surgical biopsy unnecessary: cytomorphologic study with clinical, radiologic, and electron microscopic correlations

Elastofibroma dorsi (EFD) is a relatively rare soft tissue mass, probably of reactive nature. The lesion is typically located near the inferior margin of the scapula or between the inferior part of scapula and the chest wall in elderly women. Although location of the tumor together with the age/sex of the patients and radiologic findings is often suggestive of the diagnosis, tissue examination has been considered necessary to confirm the diagnosis. Although the histologic features of EFD are well known, there are only four single case reports of the cytologic findings in the English language literature. We describe the cytologic features of EFD in five patients with correlations to clinical, radiologic, histologic, and electron microscopic findings. The current study suggests that the fine-needle aspiration (FNA) features are highly diagnostic, permitting a firm diagnosis of EFD in a typical clinical setting and eliminating the need for preoperative histologic examination.