Cancer Cytopathology

The current study was based on a relatively large, unbiased colposcopy series and a retrospective cost-effectiveness analysis of the impact of human papillomavirus (HPV) triage based on a number of considerations. The sensitivity of HPV testing for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia > Grade 2 was very high, and cost analysis indicated a moderate increase in cost with the addition of HPV triage. Because it is highly sensitivity, HPV testing may be useful as an alternative to the current policy of 6-month repeat cytology for women who have atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance.

A cytologic scoring system for endometrioid adenocarcinoma proved useful for predicting histologic grade and tumor malignant potential.

The authors report results from a large retrospective analysis of intraoperative imprint cytology performed on axillary sentinel lymph nodes (IIC^N) removed over the course of 2137 breast surgeries. IIC^N was found to accurately predict final lymph node status in 85.0% of patients. Although the accuracy of this technique varies with tumor size and type, the authors conclude that IIC^N is an accurate, practical, morbidity-reducing, and cost-effective procedure.

The findings in fine-needle aspiration cytology samples from ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast completely mirror the histologic heterogeneity of growth pattern subtypes. To the authors' knowledge, pure subtypes are virtually nonexistent. Primary cytologic grading can effectively distinguish the high-grade lesions from the nonhigh-grade lesions.

Renal medullary carcinoma is rare and occurs primarily in young black men with sickle cell disease or trait. It is highly aggressive and is associated with a poor prognosis, even with therapy. The authors discuss the cytologic features of three cases and the differential diagnosis of this rare disease.

The authors compared molecular abnormalities in cytologically normal bronchial epithelial cells and tumor touch imprints from patients with known early-stage nonsmall cell lung carcinomas. They used fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis with two probes developed in-house and a commercially available multicolor probe.

A small cluster size, multinucleated cells, and nuclear irregularity were independent prognostic factors in patients with peripheral lung adenocarcinomas that measured ≤ 3 cm in greatest dimension.