• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.11-19
• /
• 1997

Clinical lymphadenopathies are subjected to fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC) for diagnosing not only benign lesions but also malignant ones, as the first diagnostic procedure. While the diagnostic reliability in metastatic carcinoma is high, it is difficult to differentiate malignant lymphoma from reactive conditions. We evaluated the diagnostic reliability of FNAC in lymphadenopathy, and discuss the diagnostic limitation and its place in clinical practice in this study, Over 8 years from January 1988, FNAC of 1,216 lymphadenopathies were analyzed and among them 170 cases were compared with histopathology. The results are as follows. 1. Of ail the cases, 890 cases(73.2%) were diagnosed cytologically as benign, 312 cases(25.7%) as malignant, and 14 cases(1.1%) as unsatisfactory material. Reactive hyperplasia was diagnosed in 585 cases(65.7%) of the benign lesions, and among the malignant diseases, metastatic carcinoma was diagnosed in 248 cases(79.5%), and malignant lymphoma in 62 cases(19.9%). 2. The overall diagnostic accuracy was 89.2%, and no false positive case and 9 false negative results were observed among 170 cases which were proven by histopathology. Six cases of sampling error of false negative diagnoses included 3 of metastatic carcinomas and 3 of malignant lymphomas. The causes were difference between aspiration and biopsy site, poor fixation, or scanty cellularity with bloody smear. All 3 cases of misinterpretation error were malignant lympliomas, one of mixed type on biopsy which was diagnosed as reactive hyperplasia cytologically. In summary, FNAC technique is thought to be useful in the initial diagnosis of lymphadenopathies as well as in the follow-up of patients with known malignancy. Although the results of malignant lymphoma was less accurate than other malignant lesions, the application of strict cytologic criteria or lymphoid marker studies of aspiration material will reduce the false negative rate.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.99-107
• /
• 2006

In the investigation of superficial lymphadenopathy of unknown cause, fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology plays an invaluable role. It enables the differentiation of benign lymphadenopathy from lymphoid and non-lymphoid malignancies, obviating the need for open biopsy, and allowing the triage of patients. Cytopathologists should be familiar with the typical FNA patterns of benign lymphadenopathy, and recognize and differentiate among categories. In a minority of cases of benign lymphadenopathy, FNA can render a specific diagnosis. Benign lymphadenopathies are generally categorized into reactive lymphoid hyperplasia (RLH), inflammatory or infectious processes, and benign lymphoproliferative disorders. RLH characteristically presents with a heterogeneous and polymorphous smear composed of normal cellular constituents of lymph nodes, in contrast with the homogeneous or monomorphic smear of most lymphomas. The caveat is that various malignant disorders may also present with polymorphous populations. It is also important to recognize thatbenign lymphoid smears may sometimes contain atypical cells that raise the suspicion of malignancy. Clinical information should always be the integral part of the diagnostic criteria in FNA of lymphadenopathy. If there is any doubt about the benign nature of the smear, it is prudent to suggest biopsy and ancillary studies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.8
• /
• pp.4689-4692
• /
• 2013

Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is a costly diagnostic item with a low yield in identifying the tiny proportion of nodules that actually represent malignant disease. Our aim through this study was to obtain an ultrasound (US) score for selecting subcentimeter-sized thyroid nodules requiring FNAB in eastern China. Some 248 patients for a total of 270 thyroid nodules less than 1 cm in diameter underwent FNAB and subsequent surgery from January 2006 to March 2012 at our hospital. The clinicopathological and US data from all the nodules were analyzed retrospectively. An US score was developed on the basis of independent predictive factors for malignancy. Irregular shape, hypoechogenicity, no well-defined margin, presence of calcifications and ratio between antero-posterior and transversal diameters (AP/TR) ${\geq}1$ were independent predictive factors for malignancy on logistic regression analysis. US score were statistically significant, with ${\leq}2$ favoring benignancy with an 80.3% sensitivity and a 72.7% specificity. US score is useful for differentiating between malignant and benign subcentimeter-sized thyroid nodules. We suggest FNAB for nodules when the US score is higher than 2.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.158-165
• /
• 2019

Objective: Recent studies demonstrated that core needle biopsy (CNB) can effectively reduce the possibility of inconclusive results and prevent unnecessary diagnostic surgery. However, the effectiveness of CNB in patients with suspicious thyroid nodules has not been fully evaluated. This prospective study aimed to determine the potential of CNB to assess thyroid nodules with suspicious ultrasound (US) features. Materials and Methods: Patients undergoing CNB for thyroid nodules with suspicious features on US were enrolled between May and August 2016. Diagnostic performance and the incidence of non-diagnostic results, inconclusive results, conclusive results, malignancy, unnecessary surgery, and complications were analyzed. Subgroup analysis according to nodule size was performed. The risk factors associated with inconclusive results were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 93 patients (102 thyroid nodules) were evaluated. All samples obtained from CNB were adequate for diagnosis. Inconclusive results were seen in 12.7% of cases. The diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for diagnosis of malignancy were 93.8%, 100%, 100%, 78.9%, and 95%, respectively. None of the patients underwent unnecessary surgery. The diagnostic performance was not significantly different according to nodule size. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, larger nodule size and shorter needle length were independent risk factors associated with inconclusive results. Conclusion: Samples obtained by CNB were sufficient for diagnosis in all cases and resulted in high diagnostic values and conclusive results in the evaluation of suspicious thyroid nodules. These findings indicated that CNB is a promising diagnostic tool for suspicious thyroid nodules.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.18-26
• /
• 1990

CT guided percutaneous fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of the liver for both cytologic and histologic examination has great value in diagnosing liver malignancy. From March, 1986 to April, 1990, 62 patients with the clinical impression of liver malignancy underwent CT guided percutaneous FNA biopsy. Of these, 43 cases were reviewed for this study, 19 were reported to be liver cell carcinoma, 2 were adenocarcinoma, 11 were reported as anaplastic cell present, and the rest (11 cases) were negative (9) or necrotic (2). Among the 11 cases of the last group, 9 were diagnosed as liver cell carcinoma and 2 were necrotic histologically. Retrospective review, in order to clarify the cause of cytologic diagnostic error, of both cytologic and histologic slides of all cases showed discordance of 23% between these diagnoses and sensitivity is 93.9% and specificity is 90.9%. The reasons were as follows ; 1) the lack of awareness of tumor cells of well differentiated liver cell carcinoma (4 cases), 2) missed tumor cells due to too scanty cellularity (1 case), 3) improper smear (2 cases) and no tumor cell In the cytologic smears (3 cases). In such cases, at the initiation of FNA, a correct diagnosis of liver malignancy could only be made by a combination of cytologic and histologic examinations. However after three years' experience we can conclude that cytomorphologic features of liver cell carcinoma are sufficiently distinctive from other liver malignancies to be diagnostic.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.584-587
• /
• 1995

Mammary tuberculosis is a rare entity. The incidence of the disease varies from 0.025% to 4.5% of all surgically treated breast diseases. The surgical resection is required for diagnosis of mammary tuberculosis, since the clinician may confuse tuberculosis mastitis with either carcinoma or breast abscess. Treatment is the combination of resection and chemotherapy. We report a case of mammary tuberculosis diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration and biopsy(FNAB), along with a review of literature.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.109-114
• /
• 2000

Amyloid golfer is a rare disease entity that is defined as a symptomatic mass or clinically detectable thyroid enlargement because of amyloid deposition. We present a case of amyloid golfer diagnosed in the fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC) in a 73-year-old Korean woman presented with nephrotic syndrome and thyroid enlargement. The thyroid function was in normal range. Thyroid scan showed a nodule, $4{\time}2cm$ in the right lobe with underlying diffuse golfer. Aspirates revealed benign looking follicular cells and scattered eosinophilic material. The sections of the cell block showed nodular deposit of eosinophilic hyalinized material in the interfollicular area. It showed apple-green birefringence under polarization with Congo red stain. The renal biopsy also exhibited deposition of eosinophilic materials in the glomeruli and interstitial vascular wall, which were confirmed as amyloidosis. This material was morphologically distinct from the colloid.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.37-51
• /
• 1992

The fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology findings in 19 cases of primary neoplasia of the pancreas are reported. The aspirates were obtained under ultrasound guidance in 16 cases and under direct vision intraoperatively in three cases. These cases represented 79% of 24 diagnoses in a series of 30 pancreatic FNAs. Of these 30 cases no cytologic diagnoses were made in six cases (20%) because of insufficient or inadequate samples The cytologic diagnoses were confirmed by histologic examination following resection or biopsy of the tumors. The diagnoses included 9 duct ceil adenocarcinomas, 1 mucinous adenocarcinoma, 2 mucinous cystadenocarcinomas, 1 acinar cell carcinoma, 1 papillary cystic tumor 3 islet ceil tumors, 1 neuroendocrine carcinoma and 1 leiomyosarcoma. The cytologic features of the neoplasia were detailed and the differential diagnosis was discussed. The important criteria for the cytodiagnosis of pancreatic tumors were reviewed. This review leads us to think that nonoperative (percutaneous) cytologic approaches to the diagnosis of pancreatic tumor are advantageous for the management of patients, and that correct cytologic diagnosis with pancreatic FNAs can easily be made, if adequate samples are obtained.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.53-58
• /
• 2000

Pilomatrixoma is a benign tumor which usually occur as a solitary, firm nodule in the head and neck, and upper extremities of young people. This tumor is occasionally encountered during aspiration biopsy of subcutaneous masses, but only a small number of cases are correctly diagnosed prior to excision. We report five cases of pilomatrixoma. Four cases occurred in the neck and one case in the back. The characteristic fine needle aspiration cytologic features are shadow cells and basaloid cells in the background of inflammatory cells, including some multinucleated giant cells. The shadow cells were recognized in all five cases. These cells were pale, anucleated cells with relatively distinct cell borders. $May-Gr\ddot{u}nbald-Giemsa$ stain is useful for the identification of shadow cells. The recognition of shadow cells appears to be essential for accurate diagnosis of pilomatrixoma.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.57-60
• /
• 2005

A patient with actinomyces infection of the submandibular soft tissue was diagnosed by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). A 38-year-old woman presented with a right submandibular mass which slowly grew in size over one month. Clinically and radiologically, the lesion was considered as tuberculous lymphadenitis or cellulitis. The polymerase chain reaction for tuberculosis was done by aspirated specimen but the result was negative. The smears of aspiration cytology showed characteristic colonies (sulfur granules) of actinomyces in inflammatory background. After antibiotic therapy for eight months, the patient has been well, showing no detectable mass. This patient was simply and rapidly diagnosed by FNAC and can avoid unnecessary surgical biopsy.