Cytological Smear and Cell Block Versus Tissue Biopsies in the Diagnosis of Malignant Tumours in Non-Gynaecologic Specimens

BACKGROUND: Cytological smear and cell block (CB) are routinely used to diagnose non gynaecologic specimens. However, there is scanty information in the literature to compare cytological smear and CB with the corresponding tissue biopsies. This study is aimed at evaluating the accuracy of cytological smear and CB in the diagnosis of malignant tumours in non-gynaecologic specimens.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 70 malignant cases were subjected to cytological smear and CB. Corresponding histopathology was also included. The most frequent immunomarkers found between CB and tissue biopsies were also correlated. Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, false positive and false negative values were analyzed for each method.RESULTS: The accuracy, sensitivity and positive predictive value for cytological smear were 92.8%, 100.0% and 92.9%, whereas for CB were 91.4%, 98.4% and 92.7%, respectively. In CB method, the accuracy, sensitivity and positive predictive value for CK7 were 88.9%, 91.7% and 95.6%, whereas for CK5/6 were 75%, 100% and 57.1%, respectively.CONCLUSION: Cytological smear and CB are very sensitive and accurate in the detection of malignant tumours in nongynaecologic specimens. Additional corresponding tissue biopsiesshould be re-evaluated.

Historical seismicity of Iraq

abstract Iraq has a rather long well-documented history of seismic activity, where 79 events of major and/or minor effect on the community are documented for the period 1260 B.C. through 1900 A.D. Fourteen of these events are listed and described for the first time from an Arabic manuscript. The historical seismicity follows a well-defined pattern and fits with the boundaries of the major tectonic units of Iraq, as well as with the recent seismicity of the country.</jats:p

Cytological Smear and Cell Block Versus Tissue Biopsies in the Diagnosis of Malignant Tumours in Non-Gynaecologic Specimens

BACKGROUND: Cytological smear and cell block (CB) are routinely used to diagnose non gynaecologic specimens. However, there is scanty information in the literature to compare cytological smear and CB with the corresponding tissue biopsies. This study is aimed at evaluating the accuracy of cytological smear and CB in the diagnosis of malignant tumours in non-gynaecologic specimens.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 70 malignant cases were subjected to cytological smear and CB. Corresponding histopathology was also included. The most frequent immunomarkers found between CB and tissue biopsies were also correlated. Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, false positive and false negative values were analyzed for each method.RESULTS: The accuracy, sensitivity and positive predictive value for cytological smear were 92.8%, 100.0% and 92.9%, whereas for CB were 91.4%, 98.4% and 92.7%, respectively. In CB method, the accuracy, sensitivity and positive predictive value for CK7 were 88.9%, 91.7% and 95.6%, whereas for CK5/6 were 75%, 100% and 57.1%, respectively.CONCLUSION: Cytological smear and CB are very sensitive and accurate in the detection of malignant tumours in nongynaecologic specimens. Additional corresponding tissue biopsiesshould be re-evaluated. </jats:p

Immunocytochemical evaluation of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 in breast cancer cell blocks and corresponding tissue blocks: A single institutional experience

Background: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a routinely performed method to demonstrate estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in surgical breast cancer specimens but not on cell block (CB) of fine-needle aspiration (FNA). The aims of this study were to evaluate the expression of ER, PR, and HER2 using immunocytochemistry (ICC) on CB and compare with the corresponding tissue blocks as gold standard as well as to compare with other similar studies. Materials and Methods: Forty-eight breast carcinoma CB specimens with their corresponding tissue blocks were identified. ICC on CB for ER, PR, and HER2 was performed and compared with tissue blocks. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value were measured for each receptor. The degree of agreement between CB and tissue blocks was calculated using Cohen's kappa (κ) test. Results: ER results showed 67.7% sensitivity, 94.1% specificity, 95.5% PPV, and a moderate agreement (κ =0.588). PR results showed 50% sensitivity, 90% specificity, 87.5% PPV, and a fair agreement (κ =0.368). HER2 results showed 58.3% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% PPV, and a moderate agreement (κ =0.539). Conclusion: The results of this study confirm the wide variations that occur between CB ICC and tissue block IHC in the detection of ER, PR, and HER2 in breast cancers. In comparison with other studies, we report a low sensitivity and high specificity rates for ER, PR, and HER2 in FNA CB. Further studies are recommended