During a 10-yr period, 128 consecutive cases of pulmonary adenocarcinoma of varying differentiation were diagnosed with percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy. Sediments from the needle and syringe washings with 3% glutaraldehyde were obtained and processed for electron microscopic evaluation in 73 cases. Our results showed three types of adenocarcinoma: 62 cases of nonciliated bronchiolar cell origin, 6 cases of bronchioloalveolar cell origin, and 3 cases of mucous cell origin. In addition, there was an example of combined adenosquamous carcinoma and an instance of amphicrine carcinoma. Our study provided a more precise definition of the cytologic diagnosis and insight into the heterogeneity of lung adenocarcinoma. However, prognostic differences between cell types of lung adenocarcinoma were not observed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.