Cytologic Features of the Chordoma - Report of five cases -

척삭종의 세포학적 소견 -5 예 보고-

Chordoma is a rare, clinically and morphologically well characterized tumor, which arises from remnants of the notochord, The majority(60%) occurs in the sacrococcygeal region, with 25% in the clival legion, and 15% in the spine. Although most chordomas do not develop metastasis, the long term prognosis is very poor due to local progressive tumor growth and tendency to recur if incompletely excised. The chordoma has characteristic cytologic features which make a preoperative diagnosis possible. We reviewed the cytologic findings of five patients with chordoma(one oropharynx, two clivus, and two sacrum). The patients were three male and two female, aged from 29 to 77 years(mean 60). Of five chordomas, there were local recurrences in two cases and metastasis of lymph node In one case. Four were FNA smears and one was squash smear taken from intraoperative consultation. All five cases show similar cytologic features. The dominating tumor cells were large with round nuclei and pale-stained vacuolated cytoplasm. The small round uniform cells and short spindle-shaped cells were frequently noted. The cells were surrounded by myxoid or mucoid matrix. The chordoma has characteristic cytologic features which make a preoperative diagnosis possible.