Cytopathology

The theme of this issue is pancreatobiliary cytology with special reference to pancreatic endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration. Methods for increasing accuracy include a multidisciplinary team approach to diagnosis, rapid on-site evaluation by pathologists, optimizing cell preparation with liquid-based cytology and cell blocks, and biomedical scientists (cytotechnologists) assessing sample adequacy. These methods individually and in combination enhance the accuracy of diagnosis of pancreatic tumours by cytology, which is becoming the main method of diagnosis of mass lesions at this site and of distinguishing pancreatic adenocarcinoma from the diverse lesions that form its differential diagnosis. Please also look at the case reports and letters to the editor, many of which are on the same or related topics.

Editor's Choice
Review

Pancreatobiliary cytology in the multidisciplinary setting
R. Dina., M-A Tran-Dang, F. Mauri, M. Gudi, P. Cohen, R. Ahmad, L. Batav, P. Vlavianos, and D. Spalding.
Cytopathology 2013;24(3):150-158.

Editorial
The challenge of pancreatic endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology
V. Wadehra.
Cytopathology 2013;24(3): 143-149.

Other articles on the same theme include:

The presence of a cytopathologist increases the diagnostic accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology for pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a meta analysis
S. Herbert-Magee, S. Bae, S. Varadarajulu, J. Ramesh, A.R. Frost, M.A. Eloubeide, and I.A. Eltoum.
Cytopathology 2013;24(3): 159-171

Lymphangioma of the pancreas: a multimodal approach to pre-operative diagnosis
R. Fonseca and M.B. Pitman.
Cytopathology 2013;24(3): 172-176.

Optimizing specimen collection and laboratory procedures reduces the non-diagnostic rate for endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of solid lesions of the pancreas
B. Weynand, I. Borbath, C. Galant, H. Plessevaux, and P.H. Deprez.
Cytopathology 2013;24(3): 177-184.

Click here to see previous Editor's Choice articles.

The British Association for Cytopathology (BAC) was formed in 2011 following the merger of the British Society for Clinical Cytology (BSCC) and the National Association of Cytologists (NAC).

To find out more about the BAC, or to become a member, click here.