Carotid body tumour

Background

Carotid body tumours are rare neoplasms. They are paragangliomas occurring in the soft tissue adjacent to the bifurcation of the carotid artery.^1,2

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Record the patient identifying information and any clinical information supplied together with the specimen description as designated on the container. See overview page for more detail on identification principles.

See general information for more detail on specimen handling procedures.

Inspect the specimen and dictate a macroscopic description.

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External Inspection

Orientate and identify the anatomical features of the specimen.

If unable to orientate or if ambiguities exist, contact the on-call pathologist or surgeon.

Photograph the intact specimen if required.

Describe the following features of the specimen:

Procedure

Describe as stated by the clinician.

Specimen laterality

• Left
• Right
• Unknown

Specimen integrity

• Intact
• Disrupted, describe
  • Number of pieces

Anatomical components included (more than one may apply) and specimen dimensions (mm)

Describe and measure the components present.

• Specimen size in three dimensions²
• Recognisable anatomical components (e.g. artery etc)

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Dissection

Paint the outer surface with ink.¹ Serially section the specimen transversely at 3-4mm intervals.²

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Internal Inspection

Describe the internal or cut surface appearance including the following items:

Tumour

• Absent
• Present
  • Number; if more than one tumour, designate and describe each tumour separately

Tumour size (mm)

• In three dimensions (if not the entire specimen)²

Tumour appearance

• Colour
• Nodular¹
• Haemorrhagic²
• Necrotic²
• Encapsulated²
• Infiltrative²

Distance from margins (mm)

• Distance of tumour to the nearest surgical margin or to marked vessels and nerves²

Photograph the dissected specimen if required.

Note photographs taken, diagrams recorded and markings used for identification

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Processing

Submit one section per 10mm maximum dimension of tissue.^1,2 Focus on sampling haemorrhagic and necrotic-appearing areas as well as areas of possible invasion.²

If surrounding soft tissue is present, check carefully for lymph nodes and submit all for processing.¹

An illustrated block key similar to the one provided may be useful.

Block allocation key

Cassette id	Site	No. of pieces
A	Carotid body tumour

 

Acknowledgements

Prof Alfed Lam for his contribution in reviewing and editing this protocol.

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References

1. Lester SC. Manual of Surgical Pathology. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier; 2010.
2. Speight P, Jones A, Napier S, Helliwell T. Tissue pathways for head and neck pathology. The Royal College of Pathologists, London, 2014.