Fine needle aspiration cytology in a case of florid gynaecomastia

A case of gynaecomastia examined by fine needle aspiration cytology is reported. The pitfalls in trying to obtain a cytological diagnosis in the florid proliferative stage of the disease are detailed together with an account of the natural history.     

Fine needle aspiration cytology of salivary gland lesions

Eighty-eight fine needle aspirates from 79 salivary gland lesions in 77 patients were examined. The overall diagnostic sensitivity was 84% and the specificity 98.41%. When the 14 unsatisfactory specimens were excluded the sensitivity rose to 95.45%. Correct identification of the disease process was possible in nearly 80% of cases with a final benign diagnosis. The histological tumour type was correctly predicted in 75% of the malignancies. In the others the cytological diagnosis was anaplastic malignant neoplasm.     

Carcinoid tumour of male breast diagnosed by fine needle aspiration

A primary carcinoid tumour of the breast in a 66-year-old man was diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration cytology. The nature of the lesion was proved by histochemical and immunocytochemical studies. The importance of a conclusive diagnosis is discussed and the value of immunocytochemical analysis as an aid to cytomorphologic diagnosis is demonstrated.     

Laboratory Test of an Automated Cell Analysis System For Cervical Screening

An automated cell analysis system (Autoplan-MIAC) for the early detection of precancerous lesions of the cervix was tested under semi-routine conditions in a clinical cytology laboratory. A set of 1500 specimens, highly enriched with abnormal cases, was analysed. Cervical scrapings were collected in suspension and processed by cytocentrifugation for microscopy. Two slides were prepared from each sample: one for staining according to Papanicolaou for the visual reference diagnosis and one for Feulgen staining for automated analysis. the specimens were evaluated in two ways: the first one, which is referred to as the automated machine classification system (AMC), classifies the specimens according to the number and ratio of selected objects (alarms) and is a fully automated system. the second system classifies the specimens after visual evaluation of the stored alarms as they are displayed on a TV monitor, and is designated the interactive machine classification system (IMC). the AMC results showed a false positive rate of 16.5% when the cut-off threshold was selected so that all 117 positively diagnosed specimens were classified ‘positive’ by the system. In that case 87.4% of the CINI and 96.9% of the CINII cases were AMC-positive. the IMC results showed a false positive rate of 2.5%, when 86.3% of the CIN I cases, 96.9% of the CIN II cases and all CIN III and invasive carcinoma cases were positively classified.     

A morphometric study on the pars intermedia of the hypophysis during impairment of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in sodium depleted mice

Fine structural alterations were investigated in cells of the pars intermedia of the pituitary of mice treated for four weeks with (a) a sodium deficient diet, (b) a sodium deficient diet mixed with propranolol (renin-inhibitor), (c) a sodium deficient diet combined with propranolol and amino-glutethimide (corticosterone 18-hydroxylase inhibitor), and (d) a sodium deficient diet combined with propranolol, aminoglutethimide and dexamethasone. The number of secretory granules decreased from 5.0/mum2 in the normal control of 2.4/mum2 in all four experimental groups suggesting that the cells in treated groups had reached an equilibrium in the production and release of secretory granules during the chronic treatments. The number of immature Golgi granules per unit Golgi area was 0.91 in the control, while this value rose to 3.29 (3.62 fold of the control), 4.37 (4.8 fold), 4.94 (5.43 fold) and 5.16 (5.67 fold) respectively in the four experimental groups. In these groups a good correlation was observed between the number of immature granules and the percent volume of rough endoplasmic reticulum (r=0.985, p less than 0.01). The present study suggests that the pars intermedia contains an unidentified pituitary factor (or factors) essential for aldosterone biosynthesis.     

Evidence That the Sensitivity Is Increased and the Inadequacy Rate Decreased When Pathologists Take Aspirates For Cytodiagnosis

The results of the diagnostic accuracy of breast fine needle aspiration specimens taken by the pathologist in a joint surgical clinic are compared with those taken by a surgeon. In the joint clinic the complete sensitivity rose by 15% and the number of missed malignancies fell by half.     

Significance of atypia in conventional Papanicolaou smears and liquid-based cytology: a follow-up study

The diagnosis of atypical squamous epithelial cells, borderline nuclear changes, is associated with some controversy, as it encompasses benign, reactive, as well as possible neoplastic conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the follow-up diagnoses of cytological atypia in conventional Papanicolaou smears (CP) and liquid-based samples by the ThinPrep Pap Test (TP). A total of 1607 CP smears from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2000 and 798 TP samples from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2002 diagnosed as atypia were included. The results show that the detection rate of atypia in cervical cytological samples was reduced by 41.3% (P < 0.001) in TP compared with CP. Cytological and histological follow-up data showed the presence of neoplastic lesions in 34.7% of patients screened by TP versus 22.3% of patients screened by CP, corresponding to a 55.6% increase in TP (P < 0.001). Follow-up diagnosis of mild dysplasia was seen more than twice as often in TP than in CP (12.8% versus 5.0%, P < 0.001). The prevalence of moderate and severe dysplasia was significantly increased with 26.7% in TP compared with CP (21.9% versus 17.2%, P < 0.01). In conclusion, the ThinPrep Pap Test yielded a significant decrease in atypia rates compared with the conventional Papanicolaou test. In subsequent follow-up the percentage of neoplastic lesions was significantly increased in the ThinPrep Pap Test samples.     

Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology of Cutaneous Vascular Tumours

We have studied 12 cutaneous vascular tumours by means of fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC): six capillary haemangiomas, one cavernous haemangioma, one Masson's pseudo-angiosarcoma, two angiosarcomas, one benign haemangioendothelioma and one glomus tumour. We describe the main cytopathological findings and we discuss the differential diagnosis in each case. We consider that the cytopathological findings of the above lesions, evaluated in the context of the clinical findings, are sufficiently characteristic for us to be able to make a definitive diagnosis. We believe that FNAC can play an important part in the diagnosis and therapeutic planning of these tumours.     

Cytotaxonomic observations in tropical Vaccinieae (Ericaceae)

Chromosome numbers are reported for 36 accessions representing 31 species from nine genera of the tribe Vaccinieae, family Ericaceae. The plants are tropical and come from Southeast Asia and Central and South America. The taxonomy of the tribe is outlined in these regions. Genera are often poorly defined and taxa were chosen to reflect the range of variation of the Vaccinieae. Most Southeast Asian Vaccinium species were diploid (2 n = 24) as were those of Agapetes subgenus Agapetes (apart from the Himalayan A. flava ), Agapetes scortechinii and Costera endertii. All other accessions were found to be polyploid. The correlation between polyploidy, geographical distribution and the possession of an 'anatomical complex' of the leaf and stem in Vaccinieae of New Guinea and the neotropics is discussed.