Ocular retinoblastoma and neuroblastoma: A cytological impression

Abstract

Small-round-blue-cell tumor (SRBCT) or a small-round-cell tumour (SRCT) is a group of malignant neoplasms which are seen more often in children (0-20 years-old) than in adults. They generally include Ewing's sarcoma, peripheral neuroectodermal tumor (PNET), rhabdomyosarcoma, synovial sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, retinoblastoma, neuroblastoma, hepatoblastoma, and nephroblastoma or Wilms’ tumor as differential diagnoses of small round cell tumors. They have a characteristic appearance consisting of small round cells that stain blue on Haematoxylin and Eosin stained sections. They typically represent undifferentiated cells which are composed of primitive cells with minimal or no differentiation. Accurate diagnosis of these cancers is essential because the treatment options, responses to therapy and prognoses vary widely depending on the diagnosis. A multimodal approach is employed with fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) as an important modality of diagnosis for these tumors. We will discuss ocular retinoblastoma and neuroblastoma in our case series which were diagnosed on fine needle aspiration itself and were later confirmed on histopathological examination.  This study was also undertaken to determine the utility and safety of intraocular FNAC as a supportive diagnostic tool where clinical features and imaging were found to be inconclusive.