Diagnostic validity of fine-needle capillary cytology in palpable tumours

Abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate the diagnostic validity of fine-needle capillary cytology (FNCC) in palpable tumours.Material and methodsA retrospective, single-tray, cross-sectional diagnostic test study was carried out. We reviewed the cytological reports of the case files of the Cytology Unit of the Northern Regional Institute of Neoplastic Diseases (IREN) from January 2012 to December 2016.ResultsA total of 332 patients were selected, with an average age of 54.77 years (range 13–90 years); 61.4% of patients were female. The most frequent anatomical sites were lymph nodes (49.7%), thyroid (13.3%), breast (12.3%) and soft tissues (11.4%). Twenty-five cytologies did not have a histological correlation and six showed an atypical result. In the lymph node study, the most frequent pathology was metastatic carcinoma (49.7%), followed by lymphoma (13.3%). The FNCC had a sensitivity of 99.55%, a specificity of 98.77%, a positive predictive value of 99.55% and a negative predictive value of 98.77%. The positive likelihood ratio was 80.63%.ConclusionsFNCC is a useful, safe, reliable and economical ambulatory technique with minimal complications and high diagnostic accuracy.

Importance of Cytopathologic Diagnosis in Early Cancer Diagnosis in Resource-Constrained Countries

“…Depending on their availability, flow cytometry, IHC, molecular analysis, genetic studies, culture, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for infections can all be performed on the FNAB material, and increase the diagnostic value of the FNAB. [16][17][18] The use of these ancillary tests is well established and rapidly developing in HIC, especially in the era of personalized medicine. 19 A study reported that core biopsy is superior to fine-needle aspiration (FNA) in the tissue sampling of lymph nodes regardless of ultrasound-determined risk of malignancy.…”

Interventional cytopathology and cancer in Peru: how to act during COVID-19?

“…Four years later, Bardales and Abad implemented FNA and FNC in the Northern Regional Institute of Neoplastic Diseases, using predominantly 27 and 25G needles. This experiment constituted the first national publication on this matter [ 7 ]. To date, interventional cytopathology has been adopted in other institutions for early diagnosis in oncology, staging, evaluation of the response to treatment and even as a screening test [ 5 , 6 ].…”

“…It can also provide a definitive diagnosis, supported in the clinical context with imaging and auxiliary studies. Flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry, molecular analysis and genetic studies increase the diagnostic value of the technique [ 7 , 15 , 19 ].…”

“…This technique and its benefits are captured in different articles. It is simple, outpatient, rapid, safe, economical and has high diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity 80%-100% and specificity around 99%) [7,8]. It is reproducible with minimal complications, with adequate staff training for those performing the procedure, processing the sample and interpreting the results being the most important condition for its success.…”

“…In spite of its virtues and the growing interest in interventional cytopathology evidenced in several national publications [6][7][8][9], today's cytopathology laboratory faces a great challenge: functioning during the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, which has brought down healthcare systems around the world [10].Healthcare professionals have a high risk of infection due to contact with infected people with or without symptoms, limited availability of personal protective equipment (PPE), inadequate healthcare service infrastructure to confront infectious outbreaks of this magnitude and the precariousness the foregoing in low-and middle-income countries. In this context, laboratory staff, including interventional cytopathologists, are in a high-risk group [10][11][12][13].…”