Cytopathology of pulmonary carcinoid tumors in sputum and bronchial brushings.
OBJECTIVE
To study the cytologic manifestations of bronchial carcinoid tumor (BCT) in sputum and bronchial brushing (BB).


METHODS
A diagnosis of BCT was made by sputum examination in 1 case and by BB cytology in 12 cases with central and typical BCTs. The tumor was suspected in three patients whose sputa were too scanty in diagnostic cells. Three patients with central and typical BCTs yielded only a few tumor cells in BB samples and were suspected of having BCT. In three patients with central and atypical BCT, a diagnosis of oat cell carcinoma was made in two cases and typical BCT in the third case by BB. One case of peripheral and typical BCT was correctly identified by BB. In BB samples the typical BCTs showed tumor cells singly and in loose clusters. They displayed oval nuclei, fine chromatin clumping, micronucleoli and ill-defined, variable cytoplasm. The number of tumor cells with plasmacytoid configuration varied from case to case and was abundant in one patient. The peripheral BCT was predominantly composed of spindle cells and in BB samples showed single and loosely clustered cells with ill-defined cytoplasm and cigar-shaped nuclei. Two atypical BCTs yielded pleomorphic cells displaying scant cytoplasm, nuclear molding, fine chromatin and rare micronucleoli, similar to those of oat cell carcinoma, but the smear background was free of necrotic debris.


CONCLUSIONS
BCTs rarely exfoliate their cells in sputum, and bronchial brushing is efficient in detecting BCT cells that show distinctive cytologic features of the tumors.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D001984:Bronchial Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018893:Bronchoalveolar Lavage; D002276:Carcinoid Tumor / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013183:Sputum / Q000166:cytology*