Faculty Bibliography

The popularity of screening mammography has led to increased detection of mammographic lesions that require pathologic diagnosis. Stereotaxic needle biopsy techniques to sample such lesions can be used to either identify those lesions that require excision from those that can be followed, or to confirm a mammographic impression of malignancy prior to excision. Stereotaxic core biopsy (SCBX) and stereotaxic fine needle aspiration (SFNA) have rarely been directly compared. For this review we undertook a uniform re-analysis of the data that was presented in the published studies of SFNA and/or SCBX. The main endpoint was the negative predictive value (NPV) that measures the frequency that a benign diagnosis is truly benign. There was variability in NPV (likely due to sampling methods) and specific aspects of sampling techniques are discussed. The NPV was compared to indicators of selection of lesions to biopsy (frequency of invasive cancer in the study population), mammographic characteristics (masses or microcalcifications), and the reported nondiagnostic rates. The general conclusion is that SFNA and SCBX are equivalent in accuracy, with considerable variability that reflects the types of lesions that are selected for biopsy and the thoroughness of sampling. For SFNA studies, nondiagnostic rates were inversely related to NPV, and therefore have clinical implications. This was not shown for SCBX studies, and probably reflects an inability to correctly identify non-representative tissue biopsies. The main advantage for including cytologic methods with stereotaxic breast biopsy is immediate sample assessment, and this advantage can also be applied to core needle procedures.

INTRODUCTION. Although the cytologic features of Hodgkin disease (HD) has been well described, HD accounts for most of the false-negative fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsies of malignant lymphomas. In this study, the authors examined the factors contributing to a false-negative diagnosis of HD. METHODS: Eighty-nine cases from 72 patients (23 females and 49 males) with HD evaluated by FNA were identified between 1990 and 1999. The patients' ages ranged from 5 to 90 years (median, 38 years). Eighty-five FNAs were from lymph nodes, and 4 were from extranodal sites. Histologic correlation was available for all patients. RESULTS: Based on the original cytologic diagnosis, 43 (48.3%) cases had a positive diagnosis of HD, 20 (22.5%) suspicious or atypical diagnosis, 13 (14.6%) a benign diagnosis (false-negative cases), and 10 (11.2%) were nondiagnostic. Three (3.4%) additional cases had a malignant diagnosis other than HD. After review, three false-negative cases were reclassified as HD and seven as atypical lymphoid proliferation. Three of these 10 cases also showed conspicuous collections of histiocytes mimicking poorly formed granulomas. In those 'atypical' cases, only rare Reed-Sternberg (R-S) cells variants were identified. No R-S cells or its variants were identified in the remaining three false-negative cases; subsequent excisional biopsy showed partial involvement of the lymph node by HD in two cases. Among the nondiagnostic cases, nine cases showed considerable fibrosis in the resected lymph node. In addition, six cases were performed without on-site assessment. CONCLUSIONS: The cytologic diagnosis of HD can be challenging when classic R-S cells are absent. Contributing factors for a false-negative diagnosis include obscuring reactive inflammatory cells, fibrosis of the involved lymph nodes, partial involvement of the lymph node by HD, sampling error, and misinterpretation. On-site assessment significantly minimizes the false-negative diagnostic rate. Furthermore, additional material can be obtained for ancillary studies. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol)

BACKGROUND: Glandular atypia in Papanicolaou (Pap) smears from postmenopausal women is encountered frequently. This finding can be the result of artifactual alterations such as drying artifacts and inflammatory changes or may represent a squamous or glandular, preneoplastic or neoplastic process. Therefore, it is important to determine the clinical implication of a diagnosis of atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance (AGUS) in postmenopausal patients. METHODS: A total of 30,036 Pap smears were obtained from postmenopausal women between 1995 and 1997. Among these smears, 154 (0.51%) had a diagnosis of AGUS. Follow-up was available for 133 patients (86.4%); 110 patients (82.7%) had histologic follow-up (including cervical biopsy, endocervical [EC] curettage, and/or endometrial [EM] biopsy) and 23 patients (17.3%) had repeat smears. RESULTS: Thirty-six of 110 patients (32.7%) were found to have a clinically significant lesion (defined as a preneoplastic or neoplastic, glandular or squamous lesion) on subsequent histologic follow-up. Nineteen patients (53%) had glandular lesions (15 EM adenocarcinoma [ACA] cases, 2 EC ACA cases, 1 EC adenocarcinoma is situ case, and 1 EM hyperplasia case). Seventeen patients (47%) had a squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL) (6 cases of low-grade SIL, 9 cases of high-grade [HGIL], and 2 cases of squamous cell carcinoma). Among those patients with repeat Pap smears, five patients had persistent AGUS/atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance and one patient had an SIL. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of AGUS among postmenopausal patients was similar to that of the general population (0.51% vs. 0.56%; P > 0.05). A significant percentage of these patients were found to have a clinically significant lesion on subsequent follow-up. Furthermore, a majority of these lesions were ACA (53%) or HGSIL (26%). The findings of the current study strongly suggest the need for the close follow-up of postmenopausal patients with a diagnosis of AGUS. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol)

Diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas based on cytologic evaluation of fine-needle aspirates and body cavity fluids has gained increasing acceptance. However, the accurate diagnosis and classification of low- and intermediate-grade B-cell lymphomas with a predominant small-cell population still present a diagnostic challenge. In this study, we reviewed the cytology and immunophenotype of 56 cases of low- and intermediate-grade non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphomas composed of predominantly small cells, with histologic correlation in all cases. These cases consisted of 23 small lymphocytic lymphomas (SLL), 15 follicular center lymphomas (FCL), grade I (small cell predominant), 8 lymphoplasmacytoid lymphomas (LPL), 6 mantle-cell lymphomas (MCL), and 4 marginal zone lymphomas (MZL) including mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. Histologic comparison was available in all cases. A cytologic diagnosis of malignant lymphoma was made in 46 (82%) cases. Based on cytomorphology and immunophenotyping of cytologic material, 39 (85%) cases were correctly classified using the Revised European and American Lymphoma classification. In 7 (11%) cases, which included 3 FCLs, 2 MALT lymphomas, and 2 SLLs, the findings were atypical but not diagnostic of lymphoma. There were 3 (5%) false-negative cases. They were 2 SLLs and a FCL. Immunophenotyping done in 4 'atypical' cases was noncontributory. No marker studies were done in the remaining 'atypical' case and all false-negative cases. We conclude that cytology, when used in conjunction with immunophenotyping, can accurately diagnose and in most instances subclassify low- and intermediate-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with a predominant small-cell population

BACKGROUND: Although stereotaxic fine-needle aspiration biopsy or core biopsy (14-gauge) have proven to be accurate techniques for the evaluation of mammographically detected microcalcification, the development of the Mammotome Biopsy System (Biopsys Medical, Inc., Irvine, CA) has led many medical centers to use this vacuum-assisted device for the sampling of microcalcification. METHODS: One hundred forty-two women underwent 160 stereotaxic Mammotome core biopsies of mammographic calcification over a 1-year period. The stereotaxic procedure was performed by radiologists using the Mammotome Biopsy System. Microcalcification was evident on specimen radiographs and microscopic slides in 99% of the cases. Excisional biopsy was recommended for diagnoses of atypia or carcinoma. Patients with benign diagnoses underwent mammographic followup. RESULTS: One hundred thirty-two benign, 12 atypical, and 15 adenocarcinoma diagnoses (comprising 1 lobular adenocarcinoma in situ [LCIS], 1 invasive ductal adenocarcinoma [IDC], and 13 intraductal adenocarcinomas [DCIS]: 10 comedo, 1 cribriform, 2 mixed cribriform and micropapillary) were rendered. Surgical excision in eight patients with atypia on Mammotome biopsy (two refused surgery, two were lost to followup) showed ductal hyperplasia in three, atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) in three and DCIS (low grade, solid) in two patients. Surgical excisions in 14 patients diagnosed with carcinoma (1 patient lost to followup) showed ADH in 3, ADH and LCIS in 1, residual DCIS in 8, IDC in 1, and microinvasive carcinoma in 1 patient. CONCLUSIONS: A diagnosis of atypia on Mammotome biopsy warranted excision of the atypical area, yet the underestimation rate for the presence of carcinoma remained low. The likelihood of an invasive component at excision was low for microcalcification diagnosed as DCIS on Mammotome biopsy. Mammotome biopsy proved to be an accurate technique for the sampling and diagnosis of mammary microcalcification