Cytology Flashcards
Adequacy criteria for liquid based cytology of cervix
5000 well visualized squamous cells
Adequacy criteria for conventional cytology of cervix
8000-12000 well visualized squamous cells
What cells can be included when counting for adequacy of cervical cytology
Mature nucleated squamous cells and squamous metaplastic cells
Types of squamous cells present in 30F NILM cervical sample
Superficial, intermediate, metaplastic
Parabasal and basal cells exceptionally rare in this population
Impact of endocervical/squamous metaplastic cells for adequacy
No impact - transition zone is not an adequacy requirement
Presence/absence can be recorded as a quality indicator
Classic features of herpesvirus infection of vagina/cervix
Multinucleation, margination, molding
Intranuclear inclusions (Eosinophilic) - cowdry A
Intranuclear clearing (ground-glass) - cowdry B
DDx of multinucleated cells in cervical smear
Reactive endocervical changes (most common)
Conditions associated with multinucleated histiocytes
HPV changes
Radiation effect
HSV infection
Syncytiotrophoblast in pregnancy
Features of reactive/reparative squamous changes
Nuclear enlargement (up to 2x size of intermediate nucleus)
Nonspecific, ill-defined small, perinuclear halos
Cohesive flat sheets with smearing cells
Features favouring metastatic adenocarcinoma over endocervical adenocarcinoma
No tumor diathesis/clean background
Rare malignant cells
No AIS background
Categories of squamous epithelial abnormalities in cervical cytology
ASC-US
LSIL
ASC-H
HSIL
SCC
Categories of glandular epithelial abnormalities in cervical cytology
Atypical endocervical cells, NOS
Atypical endometrial cells, NOS
Endocervical AIS
Endocervical AdenoCA
Endometrial adenoCA
Extrauterine adenoCA
DDx of LSIL
Reactive changes
Small perinuclear halos in infections - trich, candida
Nuclear enlargement in perimenopausal patients
Multinucleation in reactive endocerivcal cells, HSV, histiocytes, syncytiotrophoblasts
DDx of HSIL
Squamous metaplasia
Atrophy
IUD effect
LUS
follicular cervicitis
Endocervical AIS
SCC vs HSIL
SCC: macronucleoli, tumor diathesis, keratinization (tadpole cells)
DDx glandular cells in posthysterectomy patient pap
Recurrent adenocarcinoma of cervix or endometrium
Metastatic adenoCA
Glandular metaplasia - consider radiation induced
Vaginal adenosis
Supracervical hysterectomy
Fallopian tube prolapse
Endometriosis/endosalpingiosis
Primary adenoCA of vagina - rare
Features of endocervical AIS
Crowded, columnar cells, with pseudostratification
Nuclear enlargement, nuclear hyperchromasia
Mitosis, apoptosis, rosettes
Feathering
Absent or inconspicuous nulceoli
AdenoCA vs endocervical AIS
Tumor diathesis
Prominent nucleoli
Rounding of nucleus with increased cytoplasm
Features of endometrial adenocarcinoma
Rounded cell clusters
Nuclear hyperchromasia
Prominent nucleoli
Vacuolated cytoplasm
Intracytoplasmic nuetrophils “poly bags”
lack of tumor diathesis
Cytologic features of lower uterine segment sampling
Large, cellular hyperchromatic crowded groups composed of 2 cell types - glandular and stromal cells
Branching glands and “tubules” can be seen within the large sheets
Glandular cells may be columnar and may mimic AGC or AIS
Sampling techniques for acquiring cytology specimens from lower respiratory tract
Sputum
Bronchial brushing
bronchial washing
BAL
Percutaneous FNA biopsy (CT or US-guided)
Endobronchial biopsy (EBUS)
Endoscopic ultrasound biopsy fort mediastinal LNs (EUS)
Adequacy criteria for sputum samples
Presence of easily identifiable pulmonary macrophages (no specified number)
Cytologic features of PJP pneumonia
Foamy proteinaceous material on pap stain, shaped as alveolar casts
Cup and crescent shaped organisms on grocott silver stain
Dots within cysts
Cytologic features of small cell carcinoma
Cells 2-3x the size of a lymphocyte
Predominantly single cells with small, loosely cohesive aggregates
Hyperchromatic evenly dispersed finely granular chromatin
Very high NC ratio
Nuclear molding
Indistinct nucleoli
Abundant mitosis, apoptosis, necrosis, nuclear debris and crush artifact
Paranuclear blue bodies on wright-giemsa stain
DDx of small cell carcinoma in lung sampling
Reserve cell hyperplasia (smaller, cohesive, no pyknosis/necrosis)
Variants of NSCLC (basaloid SCC, some adenoCAs)
Lymphocytes/lymphoma
Atypical carcinoid tumor
NUT carcinoma
Small round blue cell tumors
Pulmonary blastoma
Cytologic features of typical carcinoid
Predominantly single cells with small, loosely cohesive aggregates (may have rosettes)
Epithelioid, plasmacytoid, spindle cells
Coarsely granular chromatin
Evenly dispersed granular chromatin (salt and pepper chromatin)
inconspicuous nucleoli
Rare mitoses
No necrosis
Cytologic features of well diff SCC in lung
Large, round, or elongated “tadpole cells”
Herxheimer spiral (tails of spiraling cytoplasm)
Dense, waxy organgopilic cytoplasm on pap stain
dense blue cytoplasm (robin’s egg) on Wright-Giemsa stain
Pyknotic hyperchromatic nuclei with absent or inconspicuous nucleoli
Abundant keratin and anucleate keratinocytes
Squamous pearl formation
Cytologic features of poorly diff SCC in lung
Cohesive three-dimensional groups
Elongated to spindle cells
large cells
Coarse “chunky” chromatin
Multiple prominent nucleoli usually
Single keratinized cells - rareCy
Cytologic features of adenocarcinoma in lung
Cells arranged on honeycomb sheets, acini, papillae, and/or three-dimensional clusters
Eccentric or polarized nuclei
Very fine or vesicular light chromatin (when well diff)
large prominent single nucleolus (when well diff)
vacuolated cytoplasm
Mucin vacuoles
Importance of differentiating adenocarcinoma from other NSCLC
Molecular testing allows for potential targeted therapies
Causes of false positive diagnoses in lung FNA
Granulomatous inflammation
Radiation/chemotherapy
Lung abscess
Organizing pneumonia
pulmonary infarct
Diagnostic categories in reporting respiratory cytology
Nondiagnostic
Negative for malignancy
Atypical
Neoplastic - benign vs undetermined malignant potential
Suspicious for malignancy
Malignant
Tumors in neoplastic, benign category of respiratory cytopathology reporting
Pulmonary hamartoma
Squamous papilloma
Granular cell tumor
Hemangioma
Sclerosing pneumocytoma
Tumors in neoplastic, undetermined malignant potential category of respiratory cytopathology reporting
Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma
Clear cell tumor of lung
Sclerosing pneumocytoma
Primary pulmonary meningioma
Langerhans cells histiocytosis
SFT
IMT
Myoepithelial neoplasms
DDx of eosinophilic pleural effusion
Pneumothorax - including repeat thoracocentesis
Drug reaction
Parasitic infection
pulmonary infarction
Vasculitis
Eosinophilic pneumonia
DDx lymphocytic pleural effusion
Nonspecific reaction
Postsurgical reactive changes
Malignancy - seen in background of metastatic malignancy
TB
Lymphoma
Most common cause of malignant pleural effusions in men and women
Men - lung CA
Women - breast CA
Most common cause of malignant peritoneal effusion in men and women
Men - Gastrointestinal and pancreatic CA
Women - Ovarian CA
Metastatic adenoCA vs reactive mesothelial cells in effusion
Two cell populations
Large clusters vs single cells
smooth peripheral edges (communal border) in adenoCA
scalloped borders in reactive mesothelial cells
Vacuolated cytoplasm, esp if containing mucin (though degenerative vacuo9les can be seen in reactive mesothelial cells of longstanding effusions)
Stains to differentiate adeno from mesothelial
Mesothelial: calretinin, WT1, CK5/6, D2-40
Glandular: Claudin 4, BerEP4/MOC31, CEA, CD15
DDx of psammoma bodies in effusions
Reactive mesothelial cells
Endosalpingiosis
Metastatic serous carcinoma
implants from serous neoplasm of low malignant potential
Cytomorphologic features of epithelioid mesothelioma
Large clusters of cells or numerous smaller clusters (more than reactive) with scalloped contours
Single cell population
Larger cells than benign mesothelial cells
Abundant cytoplasm with dense perinuclear cytoplasm and peripheral microvillous skirt
Intercellular windows
Causes of false positive diagnoses in effusion cytology
Infarction
Acute or chronic inflammatory process
Prior treatment (surgery, rads, chemo)
Reactive mesothelial proliferations (eg cirrhosis, dialysis)
Pericardial effusions
Diagnostic categories in international system for serous fluid cytopathology
Nondiagnostic
Negative for malignancy
Atypia of undetermined significance
Suspicious for malignancy
Malignant - primary vs secondary
Ancillary tests helpful for the diagnosis of mesothelioma
Homozygous deletion of CDKN2A (FISH or NGS)
Loss of BAP1 expression (IHC)
Loss of MTAP expression (IHC)
Diagnostic categories and associated risk of malignancy in reporting system for Breast FNA
Insufficient/inadequate: 3-5%
Benign: 1-2%
Atypical: 13-15%
Suspicious: 85-97%
Malignant: 99-100%
Management guidelines for atypical and suspicious diagnostic categories of breast FNA
Need triple test approach
Atypical - review clinical and imaging findings - if indeterminate or suspicious, core needle biopsy (if unavailable then repeat FNA), if benign repeat FNA
Suspicious - follow up mandatory regardless of clinical and imaging findings - repeat sampling with core biopsy ideal, if not available then repeat FNA or excisional biopsy
Cytologic features of fibroadenoma
Hypercellular smear
Three-dimensional epithelial cell clusters with branching staghorn-like structures
Many bipolar spindled and naked nuclei of myoepithelial cells in the background
Myxoid to fibrous stromal fragments
Mild atypia possible but epithelial cells maintaing regular spacing, fine chromatin, small nucleoli
Can fibroadenomas be accurately differentiated from phyllodes on cytology
Benign phyllodes cannot
Malignant phyllode can be differentiated from FAs due to sarcomatous features - but can be mistaken for metaplastic CA or true sarcoma of breast
Can intraductal papillomas and papillary carcinoma be distinguished on FNA
Classic teaching is not to distinguish them in cytologic material
Markers of possible malignancy: complex architecture, lack of myoeps, high grade atypia