Cytodiagnosis of Hodgkin's disease in sputum specimens

In patients with histologically proven Hodgkin's disease, knowledge of the extent of involvement of lymph nodes and other organs has proven valuable in the determination of treatment and prognosis. One of the most common sites of involvement outside the hematopoietic system has been shown to be the lung parenchyma; in this study, six patients with a tissue-proven diagnosis of Hogdkin's disease and positive cytologic findings in the sputum were reviewed. Three cell types not found in normal sputum specimens were identified in these patients and were correlated with the histologic patterns of the tumors as seen in lung biopsies. Our results suggest the usefulness of sputum examination as an adjunctive or possibly a substitute diagnostic procedure in the evaluation of patients with Hodgkin's disease and possible lung involvement. They also suggest that in some cases the cytologic diagnosis can be quite specific in the identification of neoplastic cells as consistent with a diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease.     

Studies of cell lipids from the human vaginal and cervical epithelium during the menstrual cycle

The cholesterol fractions of lipids from vaginal washings of 18 women in the estrogenic phase (4 pools, 10 mg each), 16 in the progesteronic phase (4 pools, 10 mg each), and 20 exhibiting atrophy (3 pools, 10 mg each, separated by column chromatography, assayed by colorimetry, were .711 plus or minus .022, 1.227 plus or minus .023, and 1.245 plus or minus .026 mg/10 mg of total lipids, respectively. Cholesterol ester fractions (not identified by thin layer chromatography), similarly assayed, were .327 plus or minus .007, .281 plus or minus .007, and .282 plus or minus .004 mg/10 mg lipids, respectively. Phospholipid fractions, determined by assaying an inorganic phosphorous compound formed from the organic phosphorous, were .494 plus or minus .160, 1.294 plus or minus .596, and 3.204 plus or minus .035 mg/10 mg lipids, respectively. Triglyceride fractions, determined by assaying glycerol yielded by saponification, were 6.222 plus or minus .019, and 4.818 plus or minus .029, and 2.893 plus or minus .010 mg/10 mg lipids, respectively. Unidentified fractions were 2.246, 2.380, and 2.376 mg/10 mg total lipids. The increased amount of choleterol ester and decreased amount of cholesterol in the estrogenic phase is analogois to increased esterification of free cholesterol in keratinization of squamous cells. The phospholipid content, greatest in cells, in atrophy, and least in cells in the estrogenic phase, varies analogously to the decrease of mitochondria of basal squamoius epithelial cells as they move to higher strata. Fat is deposited during differentiation of the vaginal epitheliuml thus triglycerida content increases.     

Karyometric marker features in fine needle aspirates of follicular adenoma of the thyroid

Karyometric measurements were performed on fine needle aspirates of clearly identifiable adenomatous areas and adjacent normal-appearing areas in the surgical specimens from ten patients with follicular adenomas of the thyroid. Similar measurements were made on aspirates from nine patients free of thyroid disease. A total of 95 karyometric features were evaluated for each nucleus. Analysis of variance of optical density values did not show a significant difference between the three types of nuclei. Discriminant analysis selected seven karyometric features that produced a statistically highly significant separation of adenoma nuclei from control nuclei. A similar analysis selected six features that produced a statistically highly significant discrimination of normal-appearing nuclei from control nuclei. The validity of these markers for distinguishing control nuclei from adenoma nuclei and normal-appearing nuclei adjacent to adenomas was demonstrated by analysis in further training and test sets. These findings parallel those previously demonstrated for invasive and microinvasive follicular carcinomas of the thyroid.     

Markers for malignancy in the nuclear texture of histologically normal tissue from patients with thyroid tumors

The chromatin of nuclei from histologically normal-appearing glands in tissue sections from patients with follicular adenoma, papillary carcinoma and follicular carcinoma of the thyroid exhibited changes that were statistically significant when compared to the nuclear chromatin in tissue sections of thyroid from normal individuals. Certain chromatin texture features assumed values approximating those found in tumor cell nuclei. Staining was affected only slightly, and morphometric features, such as nuclear area, roundness and ellipticity, were statistically not different from those in normal controls. In patients with Hürthle-cell tumors, such marker features could not be found. Results from measurements on 30 patients (approximately 1,000 nuclei) are reported.     

Processing liquid-based gynecologic specimens: comparison of the available techniques.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a cytopreparation protocol suitable for satisfactory processing by the AutoCyte PREP System with the gynecologic specimens collected in PreservCyt fluid for the ThinPrep machine. STUDY DESIGN: The residue of a number of gynecologic specimens collected in PreservCyt and processed by ThinPrep were processed by AutoCyte PREP. Some modifications were made in the cytopreparatory protocol in order to obtain satisfactory specimens. RESULTS: The ThinPrep and AutoCyte PREP specimens were examined independently. The results were comparable, with a high degree of concordance between the two techniques. CONCLUSION: Gynecologic specimens collected in PreservCyt and following the ThinPrep specimen collection protocol can be processed using the AutoCyte PREP System. Minor protocol modifications provided comparable diagnostic material. Additional studies are needed to explore the feasibility of this approach and fulfill the various U.S. regulatory agency requirements for the liquid-based Pap test.