Utility of galectin 3 expression in thyroid aspirates as a diagnostic marker in differentiating benign from malignant thyroid neoplasms.

Galectin-3 is a 31kD beta-galactoside binding lectin, which is known to be expressed in various neoplasms including thyroid tumors. This study was conducted to study the role of galectin-3 in differentiating benign from malignant thyroid nodules onfine needle aspirates (FNAC). Galectin-3 immuocytochemistry was performed in 70 cases with adequate smears. The cytology diagnosis of these cases was: papillary carcinoma (25), follicular neoplasm (16), adenomatous goiter (20), hyperplastic nodule (5), medullary carcinoma (5) and anaplastic carcinoma (1). Galectin-3 positivity was seen in 80% of papillary carcinomas, 37.5% offollicular neoplasms and in 60% of benign nodules. The single case of anaplastic carcinoma was positive but all the cases of medullary carcinoma were negativefor galectin-3. Three of thefollicular neoplasms that were diagnosed on histology as carcinoma were positive on cytology and one case offollicular adenoma was also positive. Our study shows that galectin-3 is strongly expressed in smears of papillary carcinoma. However, since it is also expressed in a variety of benign lesions, its role as a pre-surgical markerfor differentiating benignfrom malignant thyroid nodules is limited.

Role of testicular fine-needle aspiration cytology in infertile men with clinically obstructive azoospermia.

BACKGROUND: Azoospermia due to obstruction of the vaso-epididymal junction is one of the few surgically correctable causes of male infertility. In patients where all clinical and laboratory parameters suggest a vaso-epididymal junction block amenable to surgery, failure to find normal spermatogenesis on fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the testis may necessitate a change in treatment modality to the more expensive intracytoplasmic sperm injection. We evaluated the validity of FNAC findings in predicting failure of surgical exploration when clinical parameters suggest otherwise. METHODS: Infertile, azoospermic men in whom the semen volume and fructose content, testis size, follicle-stimulating hormone level were normal and the vas deferens was palpable with no evident cause for obstruction, underwent FNAC of the testis to confirm the presence of normal spermatogenesis before surgical exploration. Men with hypospermatogenesis or maturation arrest on FNAC and a normal karyotype with absence of Y chromosome microdeletion were offered assisted reproduction or surgical exploration to identify a reconstructable obstruction. Men who chose surgery were included in the study and the findings on exploration were compared with the FNAC reports. RESULTS: Of the 10 men who satisfied the inclusion criteria, 6 had hypospermatogenesis and in 4 FNAC showed maturation arrest. On surgical exploration, none had sperm in the epididymis. A biopsy of the testis taken at the time of exploration confirmed the FNAC findings. CONCLUSION: Clinical parameters are insufficient for diagnosing obstructive azoospermia. FNAC can accurately evaluate the testicular pathology and predict whether or not surgical exploration should be undertaken.

Pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia of the breast-cytological features of two cases and review of literature.

Pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia (PASH) of the breast is a lesion characterized on histology by the presence of anastomosing slit like spaces embedded in a hyalinized fibrous stroma. Till date, the cytological features of PASH have been described in only 12 cases, of which two cases were diagnosed on aspiration cytology as suspicious for carcinoma and in one case, for phyllodes tumor. We describe the FNAC findings of two of our cases of PASH. The first case was diagnosed as a phyllodes tumor and the other case as a benign proliferative breast disease, possibly a fibroadenoma. A review of the published literature on cytology of PASH shows the morphological variations that can exist in the cytology smears of this lesion. FNAC findings of PASH are non-specific, and the role of FNAC in PASH is to confirm the benign nature of the lesion, rather than provide a definitive pre-surgical diagnosis.

Rapid staining using toluidine blue: a reliable method for quick diagnosis in ultrasound-guided aspiration cytology.

Rapid staining of ultrasound guided aspirates is an accepted procedure for evaluation of adequacy and rapid diagnosis (RD). We have assessed the reliability of Toluidine blue stain in this regard, which has not been previously reported. 295 ultrasound guided aspirates performed over a 13 month period were studied. 59 aspirates were inadequate for RD. 103 cases were called malignant on RD of which 101 were confirmed, and 2 cases were considered highly suspicious on final diagnosis. Of 34 cases considered suspicious on RD, 32 were either signed out as malignant or considered highly suspicious while 2 cases were benign. Of 56 cases considered benign on RD, 49 were confirmed, 2 were suspicious for malignancy and 5 cases had inadequate material on final diagnosis. All 43 inflammatory lesions on RD were confirmed. The overall sensitivity for a malignant/suspicious for malignancy diagnosis was 98.54% on RD while specificity was 97.99%. Sensitivity and specificity for an inflammatory condition was 100%. Toluidine blue staining is not only a reliable method for rapid staining and diagnosis, it also permits preservation of cytological material by destaining and restaining with permanent stains.