Comparison of the sensitivity of sputum and brush cytology in the diagnosis of lung carcinomas.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the role of sputum and brush cytology in the diagnosis of lung carcinoma and to elucidate the influence of tumor location, histologic tumor type and stage on the sensitivity of both methods. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective and performed on 415 lung cancer patients. Two hundred of them were investigated only by sputum collection, 119 only by brushing and 96 by both methods. RESULTS: The overall sensitivity of the sputum technique was 0.403 and that of the brush method 0.500, while a combination of both showed a sensitivity of 0.640. The diagnostic yield depended on tumor location, histologic tumor type and stage. Sputum specimens were most valuable in the detection of early and peripheral carcinomas, whereas brushing was superior in finding more advanced and centrally located malignancies. Regarding tumor type, squamous cell carcinomas were diagnosed to the greatest extent by both methods. CONCLUSION: A complementary role of both cytologic techniques can be postulated by our data as well as by a literature review.

Primary osteosarcoma of the thyroid gland.

Primary extraosseous osteosarcoma of the thyroid gland is a rare tumor which is associated with a poor prognosis. In this report, we discuss such a tumor and its recurrence in a 78-yr-old female with multinodular goiter, focusing on the imaging evaluation of this unusual tumor.

The role of macrophages in the uptake of endotoxin by the mouse liver.

The purpose of this investigation was to analyse the macrophage subpopulations involved in the uptake of endotoxin in the liver. The results show that in normal B10.D2 mice the liver macrophages constitute a heterogeneous population of cells which, depending on their state of differentiation, are distinguished by their differential distribution in the liver acinus and by their ability to phagocytose latex. Following the intravenous administration of endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide = LPS) from Salmonella abortus equi, endotoxin-carrying non-parenchymal cells of the liver (NPLC) were investigated immunohistochemically (in situ) and immunocytochemically (after isolation) between 1 h and 14 days after the injection. The endotoxin content of the blood and of isolated NPLC was also determined, using radioactivity labeled LPS. Following LPS injection, the total number of macrophages in the liver increased, reaching a maximum after 3 days. There was a striking increase in the ratio of mature to immature macrophages. After day 3, the number of macrophages decreased again, returning to the pre-injection values by day 14. 1 h after the administration of LPS, 41% of the isolated NPLC were already endotoxin-positive, a percentage which remained constant until the 3rd day. Thereafter, the number of LPS-bearing cells increased to a maximum of about 52% on the 5th day. This increase mostly involved macrophages which had taken up endotoxin. Concurrent with these changes there was a threefold increase in radioactivity-labeled LPS from the 7th h to the 5th day after injection.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)