Fine-needle aspiration with flow cytometric immunophenotyping for primary diagnosis of intra-abdominal lymphomas.
Cytomorphology in conjunction with immunophenotypic characterization is becoming increasingly used for the primary diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). This combination is especially advantageous for the diagnosis of intra-abdominal and intrathoracic lymphomas, since unlike superficial lesions, open biopsy of deep-seated tissues is more invasive and more costly, and is associated with a higher risk. We report the cytologic and immunophenotypic features of intra-abdominal NHL obtained by fine-needle aspiration (FNA). Twenty-two cases of intra-abdominal lesions obtained by image-guided FNA where flow cytometry was also performed were reviewed. Of the 22 studied cases, 7 were classified as large-cell lymphoma, 5 as follicular center-cell lymphoma, 2 as small noncleaved-cell lymphoma, 2 as lymphoplasmacytoid lymphoma, one as small lymphocytic lymphoma, and one as marginal-zone lymphoma. In the remaining 4 cases where the immunophenotypic pattern was not definitive, the cytomorphologic features were of small cleaved cells in 3 cases and of mixed small cleaved and large cells in one case. We successfully classified 9 of the 10 patients on whom histologic confirmation was obtained. The successful primary classification of most intra-abdominal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas can be done with a combination of cytology and flow cytometry, and this can be the initial approach in patients with deep-seated lesions. Diagn. Cytopathol. 1999;21:98-104.
Liu
K
K
Division of Cytopathology, Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
Mann
K P
KP
Vitellas
K M
KM
Paulson
E K
EK
Nelson
R C
RC
Gockerman
J P
JP
Dodd
L G
LG
D000008:Abdominal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping / Q000379:methods*; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012186:Retroperitoneal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*