Clinical-Pathological and Molecular Evaluation of 451 NIFTP Patients from a Single Referral Center

Background: Non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasms with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTPs) were introduced in thyroid pathology in 2016. NIFTPs are a group of follicular neoplasm with an indolent behaviour. In this study, we gathered a large retrospective cohort of NIFTPs and compared those presenting as solitary lesions and NIFTPs found in multifocal setting. Methods: A retrospective search of NIFTPs was performed, and the clinico-pathological features were recorded. For a subgroup of patients, pre-surgical ultrasound (US) evaluation, cytological diagnosis, and molecular analysis were available. Results: We collected 451 NIFTPs; 254 (56.3%) were truly solitary tumours, while 197 coexisted with one or more NIFTP/cancer. Contrasting unifocal and multifocal settings, NIFTPs size was the only significantly different parameter. Preoperatively, NIFTP nodules mostly showed low-risk US characteristics, indeterminate cytology and a RAS-like molecular profile. Conclusion: NIFTPs often coexist with collateral thyroid tumours. However, no clinical-pathological differences can be observed between solitary and “multifocal” NIFTPs. Despite the well-established clinical indolence of NIFTP, a careful monitoring of the contralateral lobe should not be excluded.

Liquid technology in the cytological diagnosis of bladder pathology

Objective. To study the effectiveness of liquid cytological diagnosis of bladder cancer and its local relapses using the Cellprep Plus technology as an example.Materials and methods. We analyzed outpatient records of patients with urothelial pathology (n = 806) who underwent a urine cytology exam by the methods of liquid (n = 383) and conventional (n = 423) cytology.Results. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the cytological examination method for diagnosing urothelial carcinoma using the method of liquid cytology have been found to be 93.4 % and 95.4 % respectively, which significantly exceeds the similar indices in the use of the method of conventional cytology – 42.4 % and 93.6 % respectively. The use of the method of liquid cytology considerably increases the accuracy of the cytological examination of bladder pathology and allows obtaining conclusions that coincide with the histological conclusion in 94.0 % of cases. In the use of the method of conventional cytology, the coincidence with histological findings is only 44.6 % (χ2 = 25.08, p < 0.001).Conclusion. The Cellprep Plus liquid technology standardizes the pre-analytical stage and increases the efficiency of the cytological method in the primary diagnosis and monitoring of patients with urothelial pathology. A promising direction of using the method of liquid cytology in the diagnosis of urothelial carcinoma is the development and implementation of the cytological criteria of differential diagnosis between reactive cell atypia and atypia characteristic of a malignant tumor.

Study of Lesions in Bronchial Brush and Wash Cytology

Aims: The aim of the study is to compare and evaluate the efficacy of bronchial brush and wash cytology in diagnosing neoplastic and non- neoplastic bronchopulmonary lesions and to relate the cytological findings with the clinical diagnoses. Study Design: Retrospective descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, between January 2019 and December 2019. Methodology: Cases with both Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and Bronchial brush (BB) samples (35) were included in the study. The slides were stained with Hematoxylin & Eosin stain, Papanicolaou stain, and were studied under the light microscope. The clinical points of interest were obtained from the case records at the medical records division, and histopathological findings from the histopathology registers at the Department of Pathology. Results: A total of 35 cases were studied. Follow up with histopathology after a cytological diagnosis revealed that the sensitivity of diagnosing malignancy from BAL specimen and bronchial brush sample was 58% and 92% respectively. Conclusion: The study confirms that the efficacy in assessing the risk of malignancy by respiratory cytology using a bronchial brush specimen is higher than the bronchoalveolar lavage specimen.

Non-Invasive Follicular Thyroid Neoplasm with Papillary-Like Nuclear Features Is Not a Cytological Diagnosis, but It Influences Cytological Diagnosis Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: A low-risk thyroid tumour, non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP) was introduced in 2016. NIFTP criteria require a thorough histological examination to rule out capsular and lymphovascular invasion, which denies the possibility of preoperative cytological diagnosis. Nevertheless, since the adoption of the new entity, the cytology of NIFTP has been a subject of interest. Objectives: The present systematic review and meta-analysis investigate the cytological diagnosis of NIFTP. Method: An online PubMed literature search was conducted between March 1, 2020, and June 30, 2020, for all original articles considering the cytology of histologically proven NIFTP. The studies including data on fine needle aspiration specimens classified by The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytology (TBSRTC) categories, risk of malignancy (ROMs) in the TBSRTC categories, and cytomorphological features of NIFTP were included in the meta-analysis. Non-English studies and case reports were excluded. The data were tabulated and statistical analysis was performed with Open Meta-Analyst program. Results: Fifty-eight studies with a total of 2,553 NIFTP cases were included in the study. The pooled prevalence of NIFTP cases was calculated among 25,892 surgically resected cases from 20 studies and the results show that NIFTP consisted 4.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.5–5.4%) of all cases. Most of the NIFTP cases (79.0%) belonged to the intermediate categories of TBSRTC. The pooled distribution of NIFTP cases in each TBSRTC category was 1.3% (95% CI: 0.8–1.7%) in non-diagnostic (ND), 8.9% (95% CI: 6.9–10.8%) in benign, 29.2% (95% CI: 25.0–33.4%) in atypia of undetermined significance or follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS), 24.2% (95% CI: 19.6–28.9%) in follicular neoplasm (FN), 19.5% (95% CI: 16.1–22.9%) in suspicious for malignancy (SM), and 6.9% (95% CI: 5.2–8.7%) in malignant. Compared to pre-NIFTP era, the pooled risk differences of ROM were reduced by 2.4% in ND, 2.7% in benign, 8.2% in AUS/FLUS, 8.2% in FN, 7.3% in SM, and 1.1% in the malignant category. The cytomorphological features of NIFTP were similar to follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (FVPTC) but lesser to papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Conclusions: Based on our results, NIFTP remains a histological diagnosis. Although cytomorphological features cannot be used in differentiating NIFTP from FVPTC, they may guide in separating NIFTP from PTC. Features such as papillae, microfollicles, giant cells, psammoma bodies, and the amount of papillary-like nuclear features should be taken into account when suspicious of NIFTP. NIFTP should not have papillae or psammoma bodies, and giant cells were rarely observed.

Dye Amount Estimation in a Papanicolaou-stained specimen using Multispectral Imaging

Papanicolaou stain is mainly used in cytological diagnosis such as gynecological diseases. In the image analysis of stained histopathology specimens, color unmixing technique, which estimates the dye abundance map, is useful. In this paper, we apply the dye amount estimation method based on color unmixing to Papanicolaou-stained specimen. In the proposed method, we capture the Papanicolaou-stained samples using a multispectral microscope, and then we estimate the amount of dyes from the observation and practically measured the spectral characteristics of the stain. Besides, we construct an application depicting the amount of stain and the bar-graph plot. In the experiments, we verify the feasibility of the proposed method and analyze a precancerous lesion of the uterine cervix using the proposed method.

Cytoanatomical marker traits of the ploidy level in fruit and berry crops

For use in breeding work, the methods of complex accelerated cytological diagnosis of genotypes of fruit and berry crops with an altered ploidy level were optimized. The proposed diagnostic method was tested on polyploids of the genus Malus, Fragaria, Ribes, Rubus, rowan-pear hybrids and is recommended for wide scientific and practical application in the plant breeding and cytology. The effectiveness of this method is ensured by its availability and reliable statistical differences in accounting parameters. In a comprehensive cytological diagnosis of forms of fruit and berry crops with an increased level of ploidy, it is proposed to first study the morphoanatomical traits (sizes and proportions of stomatal guard cells, the number of chloroplasts in them, the diameter of pollen grains). This will significantly reduce the time of laboratory analysis and field assessment by deleting forms with unchanged indicator values.

Role of Intraoperative Pathology Consultation by Imprint and Scrape Cytology in Soft Tissue Tumors and Tumor-Like Lesions

Intraoperative pathologic consultation plays an essential role in therapeutic decision making, possibly avoiding under or overtreatment of the patient. Common indications for intraoperative consultation include obtaining a diagnosis in an unknown pathology, ruling out malignancy, confirming a provisional diagnosis, and assessing margin status. Fifty patients undergoing surgery for soft tissue tumors or tumor-like lesions were included in the present prospective study to evaluate the role of intraoperative pathologic consultation by imprint and scrape cytology. Careful and quick gross examination of the specimen was performed, followed by processing for imprint and scrape smears. The prepared smears were evaluated by three pathologists and the cytological diagnosis compared subsequently with final histopathological diagnosis. Intraoperative consultation was primarily requested to make or confirm preoperative diagnosis. In 44.0% cases, no previous tissue/cytological diagnosis was available. In 56.0% cases, previous pathological diagnosis was available, but the reports were inconclusive or were reported from outside our institute. The diagnostic yield of imprint smears was 24% (5 malignant, 6 benign, and 1 inconclusive), and scrape smears was 100% (10 malignant, 38 benign, and 2 inconclusive). Paraffin-embedded sections yielded diagnosis in 100% cases (11 malignant, 38 benign, and 1 nonneoplastic). Imprint smears alone were not of much help in intraoperative diagnosis. Scrape smears were found to be superior to imprint smears in terms of diagnostic yield and accuracy. Combined imprint and scrape smear cytology did not provide any advantage in intraoperative provisional tissue diagnosis in soft tissue tumors.

Cytological diagnosis of malignant tumors

The importance of cytological diagnostics in the recognition of cancer has been reflected in a number of reports.

The Contributory Role of Cell Blocks in Salivary Gland Neoplasms Fine Needle Aspirations Classified by the Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytology

(1) Background: The Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology (MSRSGC) was introduced in 2018, bringing an organ-specific classification system for salivary gland cytopathology. The aim of present study is to evaluate the MSRSGC prospectively, based on a two-year experience in the tertiary care center pathology department, and evaluate the role of routine cell block (CB) preparation in salivary gland cytopathological diagnostics. (2) Methods: In our institution, the Department of Pathology, Fimlab Laboratories, Tampere, Finland, the MSRSGC has been implemented in salivary gland cytopathology since January 2018 and, over a two-year period (January 2018–December 2019), there were 365 fine-needle aspirations, of which 164 had a surgical follow-up. The CB methods used were Plasma-thrombin, the collection of visible fragments, and the Shandon and in-house methods. (3) Results: The MSRSGC diagnostic figures were as follows: accuracy 87.5%, sensitivity 45.8% and specificity 98.9%. For diagnostic categories of MSRSGC (non-neoplastic, benign neoplasm and malignant neoplasm) (n = 63) diagnostic accuracy was 98.4%, and for undetermined categories (atypia of undetermined significance, salivary gland neoplasm of uncertain malignant potential and suspicious for malignancy) (n = 49) diagnostic accuracy was 73.5%. Non-contributory cell blocks resulted more often in a false negative diagnosis (25%, 3/12) than a true negative diagnosis (10%, 7/73, p < 0.001), and is, most likely, an insufficient cytological diagnosis (86%, 18/21, p < 0.001). (4) Conclusion: The application of MSRSGC and CBs are beneficial in salivary gland cytological diagnosis, increasing diagnostic accuracy and, thus, patients’ management and treatment.

PATHOMORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE ORGANS OF A CAT WITH ADENOCARCINOMA

Oncological diseases of unproductive animals are becoming increasingly common in veterinary practice, especially in large cities. The basis of tumor growth is the unlimited uncontrolled reproduction of cells by the body, which leads to a complex of structural and functional disorders. Despite the significant achievements of modern veterinary medicine in the field of diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors in animals, the issues of histological and cytological diagnosis of the forms of manifestation of this pathology remain problematic. Long-term statistical data show that there is a tendency to increase the incidence of oncological pathology in domestic carnivores, especially in the malignant form.