title: [Fine-needle aspiration cytology in Hodgkin's lymphoma].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cell composition of tumor tissue in Hodgkin's lymphoma is considered to be specific. According to some authors, precise cytomorphological analysis of the specimen obtained by fine needle enables the diagnosis of the histologically well-defined form of lymphoma in a high percentage of cases. However, other authors consider the precise diagnosis of HL based on cytological analysis of a lymph node puncture specimen extremely difficult. The aim of this study was to a assess the diagnostic accuracy of cytomorphological analysis, as well as the possibility of application of this method in establishing the preliminary or even final diagnosis of this form of lymphoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty four samples were analyzed, obtained by fine needle aspiration, in patients examined and treated at the Institute of Hematology, Clinical center of Serbia, Belgrade. Smears were stained by May-Grünvald-Giemsa and Papanicolau methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The finding of typical multinucleate Reed-Sternberg cells in the smears of lymph node puncture specimen was diagnostically significant, as well as the finding of mononuclear variances of the neoplastic cells of anunusual morphology (Hodgkin's cells). The cell environment in the background of the above-mentioned tumor cells was heterogeneous. It was composed of small lymphocytes, plasma cells, eosinophils and reticular cells. These cell forms, found in cell preparations, resembled those seen in the tissue sections of the relevant extirpated lymph nodes. The comparison of the cytological findings in the fine needle specimen to the subsequently established histological diagnoses of HL revealed a high correlation of 85.2%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cytological examination of fine needle lymph node specimens is still significant for the diagnosis of HL in spite of the development of more sophisticated methods used for verification of the diagnosis of this neoplasm.
authors.affiliation: Klinicki centar Srbije, Institut za hematologiju, Beogard.
authors.forename: Ruzica
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nedeljkov-Jancić
authors.forename: Biljana
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mihaljević
authors.forename: Andrija
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bogdanović
authors.forename: Milan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Petrović
mesh_terms: D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D003581:Cytodiagnosis; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*