Cytological grading of breast neoplasia and its correlation with histological grading.

Cytological grading of breast cancer is not well established despite histological grading having gained a strong foothold. In our study we have analyzed 50 cases of breast carcinoma which included invasive ductal carcinoma, invasive lobular carcinoma, mucinous carcinoma, stromal sarcoma, apocrine carcinoma, papillary carcinoma. Papanicolaou smears were graded according to established Hunt's, Simplified Black and Modified Black grading systems. They were then compared with the Scarff Bloom Richardson grading system. Simplified Black grading system has been recommended for cytological grading of breast neoplasia because of its lucidity and its reproducibility. Cytological grading of breast neoplasia is important for neo adjuvant chemotherapy and also for predicting the prognosis of the patient on FNAC alone. Incorporation of other parameters like apoptosis and bcl-2 is also recommended.

Subcutaneous metastases of sarcomatoid mesothelioma with its differential diagnosis on fine needle aspiration--a case report.

Metastasis of mesothelioma of the pleura, to the skin and subcutis is an extremely rare occurrence. A 25 year old woman, who had undergone chemotherapy, partial excision of tumor followed by radiotherapy of sarcomatoid mesothelioma of the pleura, presented three months later with painless widespread subcutaneous nodules. FNAC of these nodules reveled pleomorphic malignant spindle shaped cell with epithelioid morphology. The subcutis is a particularly rare site of metastatic sarcomatoid mesothelioma. It is essential to differentiate neoplasm metastatic to the skin and subcutis from primary and benign lesions of the same region. FNAC is accurate and efficient, in conjugation with clinical history, and it also prevents surgical biopsy in the diagnosis of metastatic subcutaneous lesion. To our knowledge, this is the first case, reported till date, in which the sarcomatoid mesothelioma metastasized to the subcutaneous tissue and was diagnosed by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC).

An unusual localization of mucormycosis diagnosed by fine needle aspiration cytology: a case report.

Mucormycosis is an uncommon fungal infection, occurring mainly in patients with acidosis, chronic illnesses and malignancies. The most frequent site of involvement in patients of hematological malignancies is the respiratory tract. Isolated subcutaneous localization of mucormycosis in such patients is extremely rare. We report a case of a young patient of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on chemotherapy who presented with a subcutaneous swelling on the anterior aspect of right thigh. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) smears from the swelling revealed numerous characteristic broad, irregularly contoured and pleomorphic hyphae of mucormycosis. This fungus seldom grows in culture and confirmation of the diagnosis depends on cytological or histological examination of infected tissues. Our case report documents a rare site of isolated mucormycosis infection and emphasizes the role of FNAC as a simple, rapid, accurate, and useful method of diagnosing fungal infections.

Fine needle aspiration cytology of hepatoblastoma: a study of 20 cases.

Hepatoblastoma (HBL) is the most common primary malignant hepatic tumor in children. The aim of the present study is to describe cytological findings of HBL, to subclassify it, and to discuss differential diagnoses. Twenty cases were taken from records of Cytopathology department, Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute, Ahmedabad. The aspiration smears were stained with Papanicolaou stain andlor Giemsa stain. Cytological and architectural criteria were applied to aspiration smears. Fifteen cases (75%) of HBL were diagnosed in the patients below the age of two years. The commonest presentation was found to be lump in abdomen. On the basis of cytoarchitectural features, HBL was classified in two groups undifferentiated and differentiated. Morphologically, the tumor cells were commonly arranged in acinar pattern, papillary pattern, or in sheets. FNA cytology alone had some limitations in the diagnosis of HBL. Hence, cytoarchitecture in combination with clinicalfeatures, imaging techniques and serum a-fetoprotein levels were helpful for specific diagnosis of HBL and to rule out various others differential diagnosis of small round cell tumor. The cytological differential diagnosis between differentiated HBL and Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was found to be very difficult.