Fine‐needle aspiration cytology of type A thymoma with adenoid cystic pattern: A case report with emphasis on peculiar hyaline globules in cytologic smear

Here we report a case of type A thymoma with adenoid cystic pattern, which extended to the lower anterior neck and clinically mimicked a nontoxic thyroid goiter. The cytologic smears of fine‐needle aspiration showed cohesive fragments of short spindle cells with finely granular chromatin and inconspicuous nucleoli. Scant interspersed lymphocytes were present. On air‐dried Liu stained preparation, there were many magenta‐colored hyaline globules wrapped by spindle tumor cells. The cytomorphologic findings correlated with the adenoid cystic pattern in histology. The cytologic differential diagnosis and the prognostic aspects of type A thymoma were briefly discussed. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2015;43:247–250. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.