Partial expectoration of a typical carcinoid: report of a case with diagnosis on sputum cytology.

Background Typical carcinoid (TC) tumors are relatively infrequent. Diagnosis on the basis of sputum cytology is difficult, and there are few cases reported in the literature. Partial expectoration of endobronchial tumors is a a rare event that permits their cytologic diagnosis. Case A 71-year-old, male nonsmoker sought medical attention for a cough and expectoration of 1 month's duration. After 2 negative sputum tests, the third sample revealed large tumor fragments as a result of partial expectoration of an endobronchial, growing mass. Conclusion The diagnosis of TC is rarely made by sputum examination as the tumor is generally covered with intact bronchial mucosa. However, in our case there was partial expectoration of the tumor. This has been reported just once before in the literature.