Carcinoma of temporal bone, base of the skull: diagnosis by needle aspiration cytology

We report on a 68-yr-old male with a destructive bone lesion involving the temporal bone at the skull base extending to surrounding osseous structures and the infratemporal fossa, defined by needle aspiration cytology as carcinoma in association with inflammatory reaction, bacterial type, and bone destruction. The technique of the aspiration, which was performed by a cytopathologist directing a spinal needle into the region of the destroyed temporal bone as outlined in the radiographs of prior magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is discussed. The application of this technique in the cytologic sampling of deeper lesions usually of soft or osseous tissues not accessible to ordinary fine-needle aspiration is presented. There is also a brief discussion of neoplastic lesions involving the temporal bone at the skull base and the anatomic concerns in sampling lesions in this difficult-to-approach region of the body.