Comparison of Liquid-based (SurePath(TM)) and Conventional Preparations in Thyroid Fine Needle Aspiration

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate differences in cytologic findings between conventional preparation (CP) and SurePath(TM) liquid-based preparation (LBP) in thyroid fine needle aspiration (FNA). METHODS: We analyzed cytological features on a total of 182 thyroid FNAs (83 CP and 99 LBP) that were histologically confirmed as nodular hyperplasia (NH) or papillary carcinoma (PAC). RESULTS: LBP was superior in cellular preservation and cellularity than CP. Interestingly, in LBP, cellularity of NH was similarly high compared to that of PAC. The three-dimensional pattern was more prominent in LBP than in CP. The presence of follicle structures was more frequently found in LBP than in CP in the PAC group. Dispersed single cells in the background were more prominent in LBP than in CP. In the PAC group, contrast of the nuclear membrane was more distinctive in CP than in LBP. CONCLUSIONS: In thyroid FNA, LBP is better for cellular preservation, cellularity, background and nuclear detail than CP. However, some features in LBP such as high cellularity in NH, prominent dispersed single cells, and frequent follicle patterns were unfamiliar findings in CP. Hence, we should be aware of these cytomorphologic features in LBP to make a proper diagnosis.

Correlation Analysis Between Cervicovaginal Cytologic and Histopathologic Diagnoses in Cervical Squamous Cell Neoplasm

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to confirm the usefulness of cervicovaginal smears in the screening of squamous cell neoplasms of the uterine cervix by comparative analysis between the cytologic diagnosis of cervicovaginal smears and the histologic diagnosis of tissue specimens. METHODS: We selected 743 patients who had both cervicovaginal smears and histologic evaluations of the uterine cervix by colposcopic biopsy, conization, or hysterectomy at the Kangbuk Samsung Medical Center between January 2005 and December 2007. RESULTS: The accuracy rate of cervicovaginal smears and histologic diagnoses was 93.0% (691/743) and showed a high correspondence (kappa value, 0.770, p-value, 0.000). The false-negative and false-positive rates were 0.5% (6/484) and 17.8% (46/259), respectively. The sampling and interpretation errors were identified in four and two cases of six false-negative cases and 29 and 17 cases of 46 false-positive cases, respectively. In screening high grade squamous cell neoplasms, there were no false-negative cases and only one false-positive case which resulted from sampling error. The false-negative rate of cervicovaginal smears and the false-positive rate in high-grade squamous cell neoplsams were very low. CONCLUSIONS: The cervicovaginal smear is a powerful tool for screening of cervical squamous cell neoplasms.

Cytologic Features of Folliculars Adenoma and Follicular Carcinoma of the Thyroid: A Study on the Likelihood of Cytologic Diagnosis by Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology / 대한세포병리학회지

Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) cannot differentiate follicular adenoma from follicular carcinoma since this distinction can only be based on the presence of capsular or vascular invasion, and this cannot be detected on a cytologic smear. The goal of this study was to define the diagnostic cytologic findings of follicular neoplasm and the possibility of diagnosing follicular neoplasm by performing FNAC. The cases of histologically diagnosed follicular adenoma and follicular carcinoma on the thyroidectomy specimens were retrieved. Among them, the cases with preoperative FNAC that was done within 3 months of the operation were finally selected. Then we reviewed the FNAC and histologic slides of 19 cases: 9 follicular adenomas and 10 follicular carcinomas. Our results suggest that for cases of follicular neoplasm, the aspirates show high or abundant cellularity, frequent follicle formation and occasional cellular atypism of the follicular cells. However, the atypism is more pronounced and more frequently noticed in the cases of follicular carcinoma, which reveals more higher anisocytosis (7/10, 70%), nuclear pleomorphism (9/10, 90%), coarse clumping of chromatin (8/10, 80%) and cellular overlapping (8/10, 80%).

Usefulness of Sputum Cytology as a Diagnostic Tool of Lung Cancer / 대한세포병리학회지

To analyze the accuracy and usefulness of sputum cytology as a screening method, 103 cases of histologically proven lung cancer registered from 1998 to 2000 at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital were retrospectively examined. We reviewed the original cytologic and surgical diagnoses for the cases, and the cytology slides of all cytologically negative cases. The overall sensitivity of sputum cytology was 0.83 ; the sensitivity of prebronchoscopy sputum cytology for bronchogenic carcinoma was 0.87. Central tumor location (P=0.002), tumor size (>2.4 cm), (P=0.027) and the number of sputum samples (> or =3) (P=0.001) were associated with a positive cytologic diagnosis. Of the 18 cytologically negative cases, 9 cases (38% of smears) were determined to be insufficient for diagnosis, due strictly to low cellularity and saliva. After a review of the cytology slides of cytologically negative cases, we identified several atypical clusters in one case of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. This negativity was thus attributed to an interpretation error (1/18, 5.6%). Our results suggest that its sensitivity is more strongly related to the specimen adequacy and the times of sampling than to interpretation error. In terms of sensitivity, specificity, accessibility, cost, and morbidity associated with the screening tests, sputum cytology was found to be an accurate effective screening method for lung cancer.