ThinPrep� vs. Conventional Smears in Fine-Needle Aspirations of Sarcomas: A Morphological and Immunocytochemical Study

Abstract

Very limited data exist describing the characteristics of sarcomas sampled by fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) and processed by the ThinPrep® (TP) method. We compared the cytopathological and immunocytochemical features of sarcoma aspirates prepared using both the conventional and TP method. We reviewed 70 sarcoma FNAs. Samples were first used to prepare conventional smears and the remainder of the specimen was rinsed in Cytolyt®. The average number of slides examined per case was two for the TP method and five for the conventional technique. Immunocytochemistry for different markers was performed in a subset of cases. Sixty‐five cases were positive for sarcoma both by conventional and TP methods. Five cases were positive by one method only. Cellularity was higher on conventional slides. In terms of cytoarchitecture, TP slides revealed fewer thick clusters, more single cells that were more evenly distributed, and sometimes distortion of expected cellular arrangements and architectural patterns. Cytomorphological and nuclear details were better preserved on TP slides. The background of TP slides revealed a reduction of blood but also some loss of necrosis and characteristic background tumor features. Immunocytochemical staining revealed superior results on TP slides. TP and conventional slides showed good correlation. TPs were excellent for immunocytochemistry and represent an alternative to conventional smears when expertise in slide preparation is not available. However, TPs may require additional experience in the interpretation of sarcomas, mainly related to the loss of tumor‐specific background features. They are useful as an adjuvant to conventional smears in sarcoma diagnoses, particularly when special studies are needed. Diagn. Cytopathol. 1999;21:351–354. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Fine‐Needle aspiration cytology of primary renal angiosarcoma with histopathologic and immunocytochemical correlation

“…On the other hand, the ThinPrep slides yielded relatively few tumor cells, which were arranged in smaller elongated or concentric cell groups, possibly due to fragmentation, or in structures focally resembling microacinar formations amidst a background with less blood, necrosis, and inflammation. These findings are similar to those reported by Guiter et al as regards the characteristics of sarcomas sampled by FNA and processed by both the conventional and the ThinPrep method. According to the results of the latter study, overall cellularity was higher on the conventional slides while the ThinPrep slides revealed fewer thick clusters and occasional distortion of cytoarchitecture as well as some loss of necrosis and characteristic background tumor features.…”

“…These findings are similar to those reported by Guiter et al as regards the characteristics of sarcomas sampled by FNA and processed by both the conventional and the ThinPrep method. According to the results of the latter study, overall cellularity was higher on the conventional slides while the ThinPrep slides revealed fewer thick clusters and occasional distortion of cytoarchitecture as well as some loss of necrosis and characteristic background tumor features. In accordance with previous reports, our immunocytochemistry results showed positive staining of tumor cells for vimentin and the endothelial markers CD31 and CD34, and negative staining for RCC, WT1, EMA, HMB45, cytokeratins 7, 8/18, and AE1/AE3, thus strongly suggesting an endothelial differentiation of the neoplastic population.…”

“…Nevertheless, the diagnosis of primary renal angiosarcoma was established only after histopathologic evaluation of a liver biopsy in conjunction with the imaging findings revealing the presence of a solitary kidney lesion and multiple liver and subpleural nodules consistent with metastatic disease. Notably, immunocytochemical staining was performed on slides prepared from residual ThinPrep material, which represents an excellent alternative to the conventional cytology for this purpose . As previously reported, immunocytochemistry can be successfully performed on FNA specimens prepared with the ThinPrep technique .…”

“…Despite the widespread acceptance of liquid‐based cytology (LBC) as an alternative technique to the conventional method in several areas of cytology, LBC FNA remains poorly studied as regards its diagnostic accuracy in the evaluation of mesenchymal neoplasms, including angiosarcomas. To the best of our knowledge there is only one previous study describing the cytopathologic and immunocytochemical features of sarcoma aspirates prepared with the ThinPrep processing technique. The present report adds to the extremely limited body of literature on the cytomorphology of primary renal angiosarcoma in FNA, further describing, for the first time, the cytomorphologic and immunocytochemical features of this rare tumor in ThinPrep FNA samples.…”

Analysis of ThinPrep cytology in establishing the diagnosis of small cell carcinoma of lung

“…7,8 Settings or specific diagnoses in which background material is critical to establishing the diagnosis (some sarcomas, salivary gland tumors, mucinous tumors) may be more difficult to accurately diagnose with TP. 2,9,10 The utility of TP in lung cytology has been addressed in few studies, and in these studies only a small number of cases were small cell carcinoma of lung (SCCL). [11][12][13] Thus, the utility and limitations of TP in the cytologic diagnosis of SCCL is still evolving.…”