Fine-needle aspiration cytology of unusual germ cell tumors of the mediastinum: atypical seminoma and parietal yolk sac tumor

To assess the efficacy of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of axillary lymph nodes (ALN), we retrospectively analyzed 140 FNAB of ALN at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, examining technique and cytologic-histologic correlation. Of the 140 FNAB, 124 were performed by the conventional method and 16 by ultrasound guidance (USG). The diagnoses included: unsatisfactory, 20; negative, 38; positive, 72; suspicious, 6; and indeterminate, 4. Positive diagnoses included: carcinoma, 44.4%; melanoma, 43.0%; lymphoma, 5.6%; sarcoma, 5.6%; and mesothelioma, 1.4%; one of which was false-positive, attributed to misinterpretation. All indeterminate and most false-negative cases were due to lymphoproliferative conditions. The sensitivity and specificity of FNAB of ALN were 94.7% and 97.1% and the adequacy rate was 85.7%. The sensitivity, specificity, and adequacy rates of USG FNAB were 100%. Our study shows that FNAB of ALN is an excellent method for diagnosing reactive conditions as well as neoplasms.     

The value of fine needle aspiration biopsy in the diagnosis and prognostic assessment of palpable breast lesions

In recent years there appears to be a growing movement toward the use of core needle biopsy (CNB) over fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) for the detection of breast carcinoma. This tendency is caused in part by the idea that CNB can provide a more specific or definitive diagnosis as well as the belief that the assessment of prognostic/predictive factor is not possible or reliable on cytologic specimens. At our institution, FNAB of breast has been practiced for over 25 years with excellent cytologic-histological correlation. This practice has been beneficial not only for patients, but also for training physicians since nowadays a very small number of centers in the United States still routinely perform fine needle aspiration as a diagnostic tool in breast cases. To assess the diagnostic accuracy of FNAB in palpable breast lesions, we reviewed our experience during an 8-year-period and compared fine needle aspiration results with follow-up surgical specimens. From the cytology point of view, the lesions were divided as negative/benign, atypical/suspicious, positive, and insufficient. Only cases performed by pathologists were included. A total of 1,583 cases were retrieved from our archives. A definitive malignant diagnosis was reached in 357 cases. One-hundred and thirty-nine cases were classified as atypical/ suspicious, 135 cases had insufficient cells for establishing a diagnosis, and 952 were categorized as negative. A total of 408 follow-up surgical specimens were available for comparison with cytologic results. There were 19 false-negative, and no false-positive results were found. The majority of false-negative results were secondary to sampling errors. In 93% of the malignant cases, there was enough material obtained in cytological specimens to perform prognostic/predictive factors studies. Our data proves once again that FNAB is a reliable method for the initial evaluation and diagnosis of palpable masses of the breast. In addition, it also has the ability of providing necessary prognostic/predictive information, particularly for patients that may undergo neoadjuvant therapy.     

乳腺核芯针穿刺病理诊断的准确性

目的 提高乳腺核芯针穿刺病理诊断的准确性.方法 回顾性观察解放军总医院病理科2004年1月至2007年6月667例超声引导下乳腺核芯针穿刺连续病例,主要以先行核芯针穿刺活检,随后切除病变的患者为研究对象,对比核芯针穿刺与手术切除标本的病理形态,分析诊断差异的原因.结果 382例核芯针穿刺后行局部病变切除、保乳手术和乳房切除术,切除手术后病理诊断为恶性者281例,其中假阴性4例,假阴性率为1.4%.无假阳性病例.低估者28例,导管原位癌低估者为6/11,高估者2例.核芯针穿刺诊断的准确率为94.7%(266/281).结论 了解乳腺核芯针穿刺取材的局限性,善用免疫组织化学指标,掌握少见病变,才能减少低估和高估病例、杜绝假阳性病例.病理医师应在保证诊断准确的前提下,尽可能细化诊断.     

乳腺核芯针穿刺病理诊断的准确性

目的 提高乳腺核芯针穿刺病理诊断的准确性.方法 回顾性观察解放军总医院病理科2004年1月至2007年6月667例超声引导下乳腺核芯针穿刺连续病例,主要以先行核芯针穿刺活检,随后切除病变的患者为研究对象,对比核芯针穿刺与手术切除标本的病理形态,分析诊断差异的原因.结果 382例核芯针穿刺后行局部病变切除、保乳手术和乳房切除术,切除手术后病理诊断为恶性者281例,其中假阴性4例,假阴性率为1.4%.无假阳性病例.低估者28例,导管原位癌低估者为6/11,高估者2例.核芯针穿刺诊断的准确率为94.7%(266/281).结论 了解乳腺核芯针穿刺取材的局限性,善用免疫组织化学指标,掌握少见病变,才能减少低估和高估病例、杜绝假阳性病例.病理医师应在保证诊断准确的前提下,尽可能细化诊断.     

Metachronous soft-tissue masses in children and young adults with cancer: correlation of histology and aspiration cytology

We describe a series of 28 fine needle aspiration biopsies (FNAB) of soft tissue from 22 patients. Four patients had two separate FNABs, and one had three aspiration procedures. The patient population was limited to children and young adults (age range, 2 months to 29 years; mean, 16 years) who were known to have diverse forms of cancer, and who subsequently developed a mass in the peripheral soft tissues (including breast). The interval between the time of diagnosis of the primary malignant neoplasm and FNAB ranged from 1 day to 17 years (mean, 39 months). All FNAB diagnoses were confirmed by subsequent surgical open biopsy or clinical follow-up greater than 1 year. No complications occurred from the procedure. The cytomorphology is presented in selected cases and correlated with the patient's original tissue histopathology. Twenty aspirates were diagnosed as cytologically malignant, one as suspicious for malignancy. Seven were considered benign. None were unsatisfactory. One false-positive and no false-negative cytologic diagnoses were obtained. The overall accuracy of FNAB diagnoses was 96%, while sensitivity was 100% and specificity 88%. Sites of aspiration included soft tissues of the head and neck (seven cases), trunk (eight cases), breast (four cases), and extremities (nine cases). Malignant cytologic diagnoses included sarcoma (thirteen), seminoma (two), lymphoma/leukemia (two), melanoma (one), undifferentiated neoplasm (one), and neuroblastoma (one). Electron microscopy of aspirated cells was used to confirm the diagnosis in two cases. Fine needle aspiration biopsy of soft tissue masses from children and young adults with cancer demonstrates a high diagnostic accuracy, and its use is justified in this population.     

定量RT—PCR法检测乳腺癌前哨淋巴结CK19的研究

目的探讨定量RT—PCR法检测细胞角蛋白（CK19）在乳腺癌前哨淋巴结（SLN）中的表达，提高前哨淋巴结活检中微转移的检出率。方法采用常规病理检查法（HE染色）和定量RT—PCR法检测了40例乳腺癌患者SLN的CK19的表达量，同时选取10例来源于胃肠道的良性病变淋巴结作为定量RT—PCR检测的对照组。结果CK19在良性病变的淋巴结中没有表达。常规病理检查的敏感度为42．9％（9／21），假阴性为57．1％（12／21）．准确率为70．0％（28／40）。定量RT—PCR法检测出常规病理未检出的微小转移病例12例，敏感度为95．2％（20／21），假阴性为4．8％（1／21），准确率为97．5％（39／40）。结论前哨淋巴结活检可有效判断乳腺癌腋淋巴结转移状态，应用定量RT—PCR法检测CK19在SLN中的表达，可提高敏感度及准确率。     

Diagnostic value of telomerase expression in breast fine-needle aspiration biopsies

Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of breast is a minimally invasive sampling procedure with a proven value in the initial evaluation of patients with palpable breast lesions. FNAB is a simple, cost-effective, and relatively nontraumatic procedure that has replaced open surgical biopsy in majority of academic institutions across the world. There are, however, inherent limitations in the ability of FNAB to reliably diagnose small percentage of cases that are difficult to diagnose by cytomorphology alone and require excisional biopsy. This shortcoming may be minimized if the morphology can be complemented by a reliable diagnostic adjunct. This retrospective study was designed to assess the added value of telomerase immunostain in interpretation of breast FNABs. Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein enzyme that has been shown to be activated in different malignant tumors, including breast cancer. Immunocytochemical detection of this molecular marker on cytologic smears and cellblocks may be helpful for interpretation of FNAB specimens. In our retrospective study, we found that 56% of the malignant breast cases (28/50) showed positive telomerase immunostaining while only 4% of the negative cases (2/50) stained with telomerase (positive predictive value: 93%, negative predictive value: 69%). Expression of telomerase on highly suspicious breast fine-needle aspirations may upgrade the diagnosis to malignancy. However, a negative telomerase cannot exclude the possibility of carcinoma.     

Efficacy of fine‐needle aspiration biopsy in diagnosis of breast cancer: A retrospective study of 303 cases in Bahrain

Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in many countries worldwide and breast lesions remain a common diagnostic dilemma. Fine‐needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) has been suggested as the most important, first line, minimally invasive measure in the management of patients with breast lesions. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of FNAB in patients with breast lesions by comparing the diagnostic accuracy of cytology results with that of the definitive histological examination outcome and also to investigate the added value of a single aspirator experience to the overall diagnostic precision and compared with the internationally published results. A retrospective study of 303 breast FNAB samples were carried out by a single experienced cytopathologist with complete comparison records. The prevalence of positive cytologic diagnosis for the breast cancer was determined to be 20.4%. The overall diagnostic accuracy of FNAB was 97.9%, with a specificity and sensitivity of 98.3 and 96.5%, respectively. The overall positive and negative predictive values were determined to be 93.2 and 99.2%, respectively. In addition, the sensitivity was comparable in cases that have been attempted by palpation‐guided sampling compared with those aspirations that were carried out under US guidance. Results from this study confirm that FNAB biopsies performed and reported by a dedicated, single, skilled cytopathologist are highly effective in diagnosis of breast lesions and reliable in differentiating benign and malignant breast lesions with an overall high efficacy in a specialized laboratory‐based FNAB clinic. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Intraoperative cytologic evaluation of sentinel lymph nodes in patients with breast carcinoma by scrape preparation

Intraoperative evaluation of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in patients with breast carcinoma allows surgeons to complete axillary lymph node dissection in one procedure if any SLN shows metastasis. The accuracy of intraoperative pathological diagnosis is critical for decision-making. The purpose of this study was to evaluate our rapid intraoperative cytologic diagnosis of SLN through comparing with the final surgical pathologic diagnosis of the corresponding lymph nodes. A total of 454 SLNs from 159 consecutive female patients with a preoperative diagnosis of breast carcinoma over 3-year period were included in this study. After gross examination of each bisected lymph node, a scrape preparation was prepared for each submitted lymph node and was stained by the rapid Papanicolaou method. The intraoperative cytologic diagnosis was compared with the final surgical pathologic diagnoses. The overall sensitivity of intraoperative cytology was 52.5% with specificity of 100%. There were 17 false-negative cases. Of them, six nodes had isolated tumor cells, seven nodes had micrometastasis (0.2-2 mm), and four nodes had macrometastasis (>2 mm). There were no interpretive errors identified. The size of metastasis and tumor grade appeared to be significant factors in detecting metastasis by cytology. In addition, subsequent non-SLN involvement was 9% in patients with micrometastasis versus 50% in patients with macrometastasis (P < 0.05). Our study shows that the intraoperative cytologic evaluation of SLNs in breast carcinoma is a reasonably accurate method. The majority of false-negative cases were due to micrometastasis and isolated tumor cells.     

Diagnostic value of fine needle aspiration biopsy in non-thyroidal head and neck lesions: a retrospective study of 866 aspiration materials

Aim: We aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) and compared our FNAB results of non-thyroidal head and neck lesions with excisional biopsy results. Materials and methods: A total of 866 aspiration material taken from different parts of head and neck region out of thyroid were evaluated at Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital Pathology Laboratory, between January 2002 and May 2013 and 248 of which has histopathologic response were included in the study. Patients depending on origin of the masses were divided into three categories as; salivary gland, lymph nodes and soft tissue/cystic lesions. The sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic accuracy values of fine needle aspiration biopsies have been investigated for all the series and individually for each category. Findings: Diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive values of non-thyroidal head and neck masses were respectively; For all of the series; 94.6%, 97.9%, 96.7%, 95.9%, 97.2%, Salivary gland: 88.9%, 100%, 98.8%, 100%, 98.7%, Lymph nodes: 94.7%, 89.3%, 92.9%, 94.7%, 89.2%, Soft tissue/cystic lesions: 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%. For all of the series; there were 4 false negative (FN) cases; and 3 false positive (FP) cases. Conclusion: FNAB in the diagnosis of head and neck masses; it is an easy, cheap and usefull procedure.     

The use of fine‐needle aspiration biopsy samples for the assessment of basal phenotype in triple negative breast cancer patients: A correlative study

Molecular profiling of breast cancer has gained popularity due to the possibility of studying the biological spectrum of the disease and to evaluate prognostic and predictive characteristics that can lead to more accurate therapeutic decisions. Although studies have been carried out on tissue using tissue microarray technology (TMA), to our knowledge, this technology has not been applied to samples obtained by fine‐needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). This study was designed to correlate FNAB samples with corresponding surgical specimens for the assessment of basal phenotype in patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). A total of 198 cases of TNBC with matching FNAB and surgical specimens were identified. Forty‐six cases with sufficient tissue in both FNAB cell blocks and surgical specimens were selected. Tissue microarray blocks were prepared and stained with six biomarkers (CK5/6, p63, SMA, EGFR, C‐Kit, and p53). For statistical analysis, we used the observed (Gross) percentage of agreement and also calculated the Cohen's Kappa for each biomarker. We found a high agreement between the two groups as shown by the values of Observed (Gross) percentage of agreement (mostly 90% or higher except for the C‐Kit which was 78%). In addition, Cohen's Kappa point estimate showed substantial agreement (0.61–0.80) for CK 5/6, p63, EGFR, p53, moderate agreement (0.41–0.60) for C‐Kit, and, fair agreement (0.21–0.40) for SMA. Our study shows that the advantages of FNAB are not restricted to cost‐effectiveness, but also attested that cytology samples are suitable for the evaluation of biomarkers that have important implications on patient's therapy and prognosis. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2011;39:1–7. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Breast and cutaneous mycobacteriosis: Diagnosis by fine-needle aspiration biopsy

The breast and skin are considered to be rare sites of extrapulmonary mycobacterial infection, comprising 0.1% to 0.5% of all tuberculosis cases, respectively. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is a rapid and minimally invasive approach to diagnose extrapulmonary tuberculosis, and has been used successfully in identifying tuberculous lesions in the lymph nodes, thyroid, kidney, pancreas, vertebrae, and testis. Two cases of extrapulmonary mycobacteriosis diagnosed by FNAB are described: a 59-year-old Hispanic male with cutaneous mycobacterial infection of the head and neck region, and a 58-year-old white male with a unilateral tuberculous mastitis. In both instances, the FNAB material demonstrated acute neutrophilic exudate, few isolated aggregates of epithelioid histiocytes and lymphocytes, and on Fite-Farraco stain mycobacteria. Reported cases of tuberculosis diagnosed by FNAB have been few; this is the first case of cutaneous tuberculosis diagnosed by FNAB. Diagn. Cytopathol. 17:45–49, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The diagnostic utility of CK5/6 and p63 in fine-needle aspiration of the breast lesions diagnosed as proliferative fibrocystic lesion

Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy (FNAB) in the preoperative assessment of breast lesions has shown diagnostic limitations with false-positive and false-negative diagnoses. We investigated the diagnostic value of cytokeratin 5/6 (CK5/6) and p63 in a series of breast FNABs, diagnosed as proliferative breast lesions with or without atypia, to see whether these ancillary studies enhance the ability to make an accurate diagnosis by FNAB. Sixty-four breast FNABs were retrieved between January 2000 and December 2005 and included in the study as follows: 29/64 (45%) cases as proliferative with atypia and 35/64 (55%) without atypia. We also included 10 cases of fibroadenoma. All cases had histological follow-up available for correlation. Immunostaining for CK5/6 and p63 was performed on the cell block material in all cases. The percentage of staining cells in the specimen was graded as 0 (0-10%), 1 (11-25%), 2 (26-50%), and 3 (>50%). There were 9/29 (31%) cases in the atypical group that were found to be malignant on resection, compared with 6/35 (17%) in the cases without atypia. In histologically proven malignant cases, CK5/6 was negative in 11/15 (73%) or showed 1+ stain in 2/15 (13%) cases. In benign breast lesions, CK5/6 stained more than 25% of cell proliferation in 44/49 (90%). p63 showed characteristic staining for single naked bipolar nuclei in the background of the specimen (not appreciated by CK5/6) in all fibroadenoma cases. In conclusion, CK5/6 may enhance the ability to differentiate between benign and malignant epithelial proliferations in breast FNABs. In fibroepithelial lesions, p63 may be more useful than CK5/6.     

Is core needle biopsy superior to fine‐needle aspiration biopsy in the diagnosis of papillary breast lesions?

Since the 1980s core needle biopsy (CNB) has gained remarkable popularity and in many institutions it has replaced fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). However, similar to FNAB, limitation remains in the ability of this procedure to reliably diagnose a small, but prognostically significant, number of breast lesions. These include entities such as atypical ductal hyperplasia, fibro-epithelial tumors, radial scar, papillary lesions, and lobular neoplasia. To assess the diagnostic accuracy of CNB vs. FNAB in the same breast lesions, we reviewed our cases of papillary lesions of the breast. In a retrospective study, we identified 36 cases of FNAB and 11 cases of CNB diagnosed as papillary lesions and compared the results with their corresponding surgical specimen. Interpretation ranged from papillary vs. atypical papillary lesions favoring benign vs. malignant tumors, respectively. Occasionally, definitive diagnosis of papillary carcinoma was entertained. Immunohistochemical staining with smooth muscle actin was used to evaluate the presence or absence of a myoepithelial cell layer. FNAB had benign findings in 21 lesions, atypical in 10, and malignant in five. Of the five lesions yielding malignant features, four had invasive carcinoma and one had micropapillary ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Surgery revealed invasive carcinoma in three of the cases interpreted as atypical papillary lesions and invasive cancer and micropapillary DCIS in three of the cases diagnosed as benign lesions. Similar results were obtained with CNB. DCIS was found in one out of six of the cases diagnosed as papilloma. Out of the four cases that were interpreted as atypical papillary lesion, surgery revealed invasive carcinoma in one case and one case had micropapillary DCIS. Diagnosis of malignancy was confirmed by histology in one case interpreted as papillary carcinoma by CNB. This study suggested that both FNAB and CNB share similar diagnostic challenges and a follow-up surgical excision is indicated when diagnosis of a papillary lesion is entertained by both procedures.     

A prospective study of the diagnostic accuracy of cytological criteria in the FNAB diagnosis of breast papillomas

Seventy-four fine needle aspiration biopsies (FNAB) of breast were selected from the 133 cases with surgical biopsy follow up, from a total of 1,154 consecutive breast FNAB received in a 6-month-period. These 74 cases were reviewed and scored using all relevant cytological criteria for proliferative breast lesions used in our recent retrospective study, without reference to the original cytological and surgical biopsy diagnoses. Of the 42 criteria scored, 13 had a statistically significant association between the cytology score and the presence or absence of a papilloma (PAP), and the sensitivities, specificities and positive predictive values (PPV) of these individual criteria, or a combination of criteria, were derived. It was found that stellate and meshwork tissue fragments and papillary fragments were all highly specific (0.98) for the diagnosis of PAP, with meshwork fragments having the highest PPV (0.93). Stellate fragments (0.41) and papillary fragments (0.24) were less sensitive not only because they occurred less often, but also because they were present in smaller numbers. The presence of a proteinaceous background with macrophages and siderophages or a moderate to marked number of apocrine sheets were useful indicators only when coexisting with at least one of the above three features.     

Role of repeat fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) in the management of thyroid nodules

The purpose of the present study was to determine the role of repeat fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) in the evaluation of thyroid nodules initially classified as "nondiagnostic" due to limited cellularity or as "indeterminate for neoplasm." We reviewed a cohort of 431 patients (352 females, 79 males; average age 50 yr); 237 patients were classified as "nondiagnostic" due to limited cellularity and 194 as "indeterminate for neoplasm" over a 3-yr period (1999-2002). Repeat FNAB under ultrasound guidance was performed in 226 patients (226/431, 52%); surgical pathology results were available in 101 patients. Repeat FNAB diagnoses were: benign 70 (31%), follicular/Hürthle cell neoplasm 62 (27%), suspicious for papillary carcinoma 25 (12%), malignant 17 (7%), and nondiagnostic 52 (23%) cases. Surgical follow-up was available in 101 (45%) patients; malignancy was identified in 50 (49%) patients. The malignancy rate was 51% and 48% in cases in which initial FNAB was nondiagnostic and indeterminate for neoplasm, respectively. There were no false-positives and all malignant cases undergoing surgery were found to be malignant. This study demonstrates that repeat FNAB is warranted in patients with thyroid nodules diagnosed on initial FNAB as nondiagnostic and indeterminate for neoplasm since it can yield a definitive diagnosis in the majority of cases with an overall malignancy rate of 49%.     

A comparision of aspiration cytology and core needle biopsy according to tumor size of suspicious breast lesions

The purpose of the study was to compare the accuracy of FNAC, CNB, and combined biopsy according to tumor size of suspicious breast lesions. FNAC and CNB were performed in 264 patients with suspicious breast lesions from August, 1997 to August, 2002. The procedures were guided by ultrasound and performed in the same session by the same operator. The lesions were divided in four groups according to the tumor size in the histopathology report: lesions smaller than 1 cm, between 1 and 2 cm, between 2 and 5 cm, and lesions greater than 5 cm. The final surgical histopatology results identified 222 (84%) malignant cases and benign lesions summed 42 (16%). For lesions smaller than 1 cm, FNAC, CNB, and combined biopsy were equivalent for all parameters. For lesions between 1 and 2 cm, FNAC and CNB were equivalent. Combined biopsy showed higher absolute sensitivity (P = 0.007) and lower inadequate rate (P = 0.03) when compared to FNAC. However, when combined biopsy and CNB were compared, no difference were found. For lesions between 2 and 5 cm, CNB showed higher absolute sensitivity (P < 0.001) and lower inadequate rate (P < 0.007) when compared to FNAC. Combined biopsy showed higher sensitivity compared to FNAC and CNB alone (P < 0.05) in this group. For lesions greater than 5 cm, FNAC and CNB were equivalent for all parameters. Combined biopsy only showed higher absolute sensitivity (P = 0.04) when compared with FNAC alone. The combination of FNAC and CNB can improve the diagnosis of suspicious breast lesions higher than 1 cm. However, for lesions smaller than 1 cm, our results showed no difference between FNAC, CNB, and combined biopsy, for these lesions any modality has technical limitations.     

Fibroadenomas with atypia: causes of under- and overdiagnosis by aspiration biopsy.

Fibroadenoma (FA) is a common benign breast lesion frequently sampled by fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). Although the cytologic diagnosis is straightforward in most cases, cellular discohesion and atypia in FAs may lead to falsely atypical or positive FNAB diagnoses. Conversely, some adenocarcinomas mimic a fibroadenomatous pattern on FNAB, resulting in a false-negative diagnosis. We reviewed the cytologic and histologic findings in 25 cases with a preoperative FNAB diagnosis of FA, wherein excision was recommended based on atypia. Our aim was to analyze the spectrum of changes causing under- or overdiagnosis in such cases. The smears were assessed for cellularity, cellular discohesion, presence of dissociated intact cells and nucleoli, nuclear pleomorphism, oval bare nuclei, and stromal fragments. The histologic findings were correlated with FNAB features. At excision, 88% of FAs classified as atypical on FNAB were benign (FA with ductal hyperplasia and lactational change, myxoid FA, and other fibroepithelial lesions). Differentiating myxoid FA from colloid carcinoma was difficult due to the abundance of extracellular mucin in which the dissociated epithelial cells were floating. Two (8%) cases were carcinomas on excision; the reasons for underdiagnosis in one case reflected sampling, and in the other, interpretative error. There was one (4%) benign phyllodes tumor which lacked stromal fragments and single stromal cells on FNAB smears. The lesion was called atypical, based on the epithelial discohesion on the smears. We conclude that the majority of FAs with atypia on FNAB are benign lesions. Considering the grave consequences of a false-positive cytologic diagnosis, we recommend a conservative approach in interpreting FNAB smears which overall display a fibroadenomatous pattern.     

Adenomyoepithelioma of the breast: Report of two cases with prominent cystic changes and intranuclear inclusions

Adenomyoepithelioma is a rare breast tumor. Histologically it may disclose different patterns of growth, and some additional features may result in diagnostic errors. We describe 2 cases of adenomyoepithelioma of the breast initially examined by fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). Cytologic features included hypercellularity, clusters of epithelial and myoepithelial cells with occasional intranuclear inclusions, prominent apocrine metaplasia, and foam cells. Histologically, both tumors were diagnosed as adenomyoepithelioma tubular-variant, with prominent myoepithelial clear cells, apocrine metaplasia, and foci of squamous metaplasia. Immunohistochemically, the tumors showed strong positivity for keratins CAM 5.2, AE1/AE3, and EMA in the epithelial component, while the myoepithelial cells reacted with muscle-specific actin (A14 and HHF35) and S-100 protein. We point out that FNAB in this rare tumor may exhibit a varied spectrum of cells that may result in confusion with other lesions, and we call attention to the presence of intranuclear inclusions. The latter observation in the present cases by cytologic and histologic assessment provides an additional feature to the morphological characteristics of adenomyoepithelioma of the breast. Diagn. Cytopathol. 1998;19:55–58. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

乳腺三维断层摄影与乳腺彩超在乳腺疾病诊断中的效能对比

【摘 要】 目的:研究数字乳腺三维断层技术（DBT）和乳腺超声在诊断乳腺病变效能的不同以及联合应用对于乳腺诊断的价值。 方法:收集1 065例乳腺病变患者,其中333例有完整的病理检查资料。以乳腺影像报告和数据系统（BI-RADS）分类为标准,分析DBT、超声、DBT+超声在乳腺病变诊断中的分布差异。根据333例病理结果,比较3种诊断模式的诊断效能。 结果:DBT与超声的BI-RADS分布有显着性差异（P=0.001）,DBT与DBT+超声或超声与DBT+超声的BI-RADS分布无显著性差异（P=0.258, 0.394）。3种诊断模式均可明显区分恶性和良性乳腺病变（P<0.001）。多组独立样本Kruskal-Wallis秩和检验分析显示3种诊断模型存在差异（[χ2]=14.982, P=0.001）。DBT的特异性、误诊率、准确性和阳性预测值明显优于超声。超声显示囊性病变优于DBT,且超声对确定良性肿块的敏感性优于DBT。DBT+超声的特异性为99.5％,误诊率为0.5%,阳性预测值也达到99%。DBT+超声的检查模式优于单独使用DBT或超声。 结论:与单独的DBT或超声相比,DBT和超声的组合可以提高乳腺病变的诊断效能。