A tigroid background may be seen in all of the following neoplasms EXCEPT:
Dedifferentiated liposarcoma
Ewing sarcoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma, clear cell variant
Seminoma
Clear cell sarcoma of soft tissue
Show Answer and Explanations
Dedifferentiated liposarcoma — Correct answer
Correct. These cells do not contain glycogen cytoplasmic vacuoles, so a tigroid background does not occur.
Ewing sarcoma
Incorrect. A tigroid background is seen in Ewing sarcoma.
Hepatocellular carcinoma, clear cell variant
Incorrect. A tigroid background is seen in the clear cell variant of HCC
Seminoma
Incorrect. A tigroid background is classic for seminoma.
Clear cell sarcoma of soft tissue
Incorrect. A tigroid or clean background may be seen in clear cell sarcoma.
Summary
Summary; Dispersal of cytoplasmic glycogen onto cytology smears results in a mottled or “tigroid” background. Although this feature is classically associated with seminomas/dysgerminomas, other tumors with cytoplasmic glycogen vacuoles can replicate this effect. Examples include clear cell sarcoma of soft tissue, Ewing sarcoma, and the clear cell variant of hepatocellular carcinoma.