title: Cirrhosis with atypia. A potential pitfall in the interpretation of liver aspirates.
abstract: Needle aspirations of the liver yielding highly atypical hepatocytes present a diagnostic challenge, with the differential diagnosis lying between hepatocellular carcinoma and benign reactive atypia. A case of a healing liver abscess in a patient with cirrhosis, mistakenly diagnosed as an hepatocellular carcinoma, is presented. Criteria for the avoidance of false-positive diagnoses of hepatocellular carcinoma on needle aspirates are presented, and the concept of "liver cell dysplasia" as a cytodiagnostic entity is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Service, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland 21218.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Berman
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: McNeill
mesh_terms: D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged