Warthintumor in a young non-smoker female diagnosed on Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology – A rare Case Report

Warthintumor is the second most common benign tumor occurring in the Salivary Glands following Pleomorphic Adenoma. It gets its name from the American Pathologist – ‘Aldred Scott Warthin,’ who described it in 1929. The tumor commonly affects males with incidence peaking around 6th-7th decade. Smoking is a well-established etiological agent of Warthin tumor. We hereby describe a case of a young non-smoker female who presented with a painless swelling in the infra-auricular region. Fine needle aspiration cytology of the swelling revealed oncocytes arranged in sheets, clusters and scattered singly. Cells had abundant amount of granular cytoplasm with eccentric nuclei. Background was composed of lymphocytes and granular debris. Diagnosis was rendered as - ‘Milan Category IV-A’ – NEOPLASM: BENIGN suggestive of Warthin tumor according to The Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology. The patient underwent superficial parotidectomy and the specimen of the same was received in the histopathology department. Gross examination revealed that the tumor was ovoid and well circumscribed with cut section showing solid-cystic areas. Microscopy revealed that the tumor comprised of both epithelial and lymphocytic component with epithelium thrown into papillary folds. The epithelium was oncocytic with foci showing squamous metaplasia. The final diagnosis was confirmed as ‘Warthin tumor.’ A young non-smoker female presenting as Warthin tumor is a rare entity. The recent changing trends in mean age and decrease in gender predilection for men not only needs careful and comprehensive evaluation of the patients by the clinicians but also more research work regarding the pathogenesis needs to be carried ou