Esophageal carcinoma with a rhabdoid phenotype: A case report of diagnosis by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration

Malignant extra renal tumors with rhabdoid phenotype are aggressive neoplasms associated with a poor prognosis. These tumors have been reported in soft tissue and various organs including the gastrointestinal tract. We report one of such tumors arising in the esophagus and discuss the cytopathologic, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural features. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology revealed a highly cellular tumor, consisting of polygonal poorly cohesive cells with prominent eosinophilic paranuclear cytoplasmic inclusions. Immunohistochemical staining showed strong cytoplasmic positivity for vimentin and cytokeratin. Electron microscopy revealed presence of numerous intermediate filaments. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of carcinoma with rhabdoid phenotype of the esophagus diagnosed by FNA cytology. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2005;33:407–411. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.