Correlation of apoptosis with the distribution and composition of lymphocytic infiltrate in human breast carcinomas.

We studied the lymphocytic infiltrate in human breast carcinomas and correlated its distribution and composition with the apoptotic index of cancerous cells. Paraffin sections from 36 human breast carcinomas with prominent lymphocytic infiltration were immunohistochemically stained with L26, UCHL1 and Leu-7 antibodies. Apoptotic index was expressed as the number of cells undergoing apoptosis per 20 HPF. The lymphocytic infiltrate was composed mainly of T-cells, usually peripherally but in 17 cases intratumorally distributed. T-cells, in contact with apoptotic cells, were observed in 11 cases. B-cells formed small aggregates at the periphery of the tumor. NK cells were present isolated in the infiltrate. No correlation was found between the type and distribution of the lymphocytic infiltrate and apoptotic index. The presence of intratumoral T-lymphocytes, occasionally observed in contact with apoptotic cells, may suggest that they could be partly associated with the apoptotic death of cancerous cells.

Frozen section diagnosis: a quality control study.

In a quality control study we reviewed six hundred and eighty one frozen section specimens sent to our department from 1981 to 1989. Accuracy was 98%. Diagnosis was deferred in 1%. False positive diagnosis for malignancy was made in one (0.15%) case and false negative diagnosis for malignancy in thirteen (2%) cases. Most of the inaccurate diagnoses concerned the female breast and the omentum. Incorrect diagnoses were due to interpretation of the pathologic findings (50%), to microscopic sampling (36%) and to gross sampling (14%). Some of the lesions are difficult to diagnose even in permanent sections. Technical skill and diagnostic expertise are essential for high diagnostic accuracy in the method of frozen section.