Malignant by name or malignant by nature: a case of Wegener's granulomatosis diagnosed as adenocarcinoma of unknown primary.

ABSTRACT

Most malignancies are characterised by malignant behaviour at some point in the disease trajectory. However, non-malignant diseases may exhibit malignant behaviour. A diagnosis of malignancy based on fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) can be misleading. We report a case of Wegener's granulomatosis initially diagnosed by FNAC as adenocarcinoma of unknown primary. The limitations of FNAC, the disparate prognoses of the two diagnoses despite a compatible clinical picture and the need for clinical vigilance in monitoring a disease course are highlighted.