title: Transthoracic needle aspiration biopsy: accuracy of cytologic typing of malignant neoplasms.
abstract: A correlation was made between the cytologic and the histologic diagnoses of 162 patients who underwent transthoracic fine-needle aspiration biopsy in whom histologic proof of the nature of the aspirated lesion was available. Compared to the histologic diagnosis, the specific cell-type cytologic diagnosis was usually in agreement when reported as squamous cell carcinoma (86%), adenocarcinoma (86%), or small cell anaplastic carcinoma(86%). In patients with a known extrapulmonary primary malignant neoplasm, the cytologic specimen was extremely helpful in identifying a new pulmonary lesion as metastatic rather than as a primary lesion in the lung. These results warrant the more extensive use of fine-needle aspiration biopsy in patients with pulmonary neoplasms in whom the specific cell type of the malignant neoplasm has important implications in therapy.
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001707:Biopsy, Needle / Q000379:methods*; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000175:diagnosis; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003581:Cytodiagnosis; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D013945:Thymoma / Q000175:diagnosis