title: Tracheobronchial epithelial multinucleation in malignant disease.
abstract: Multinucleated tracheobronchial ciliated epithelial cells seen in smears from 112 patients suffering from a wide variety of malignant tumors were found to be 2.08 times more numerous than in a control group comparable in sex, age (decades), and smoking habit but without prediagnosed malignancies. The recognition of this phenomenon may lead to the development of a new test for the diagnosis of occult cancer and may open new pathways for investigation of cancer-host relationships.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D001980:Bronchi / Q000473:pathology*; D002283:Carcinoma, Bronchogenic / Q000175:diagnosis; D002467:Cell Nucleus; D002648:Child; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D003581:Cytodiagnosis; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D005260:Female; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking; D014132:Trachea / Q000473:pathology*; D014565:Urogenital Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis