Correlation of imprint cytology of axillary lymph noodes in breast carcinoma with the histopathological diagnosis

Abstract

Introduction Conventionally, at least ten axillary lymph nodes are dissected and examined for metastases in every breast carcinoma patient to find out the metastatic status. Recently however, with the use of intraoperative imprint cytologic examination of a single sentinel lymph node, presence or absence of metastases in axillary lymph nodes can be detected within five minutes. Objectives The objective of this study was to determine sensitivity and specificity of imprint cytology in detecting metastases in axillary lymph nodes in breast carcinoma patients taking histopathological examination as the gold-standard. This is the first study of such kind done in Nepal so far. If it is done in other countries, why it is needed for Nepal? Methods 34 female patients with breast cancer who had undergone lumpectomy/mastectomy with axillary lymphadenectomy were included in the study. Imprint smears of the axillary lymph nodes of each case were prepared. The smears were interpreted as positive or negative on the basis of whether metastases were present or absent respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of imprint cytology were calculated taking histopathologic diagnosis as the standard. Results Of the 34 cases, 30 were found to have positive lymph node status in final histopathologic examination. Twenty six among the thirty cases were correctly identified by imprint cytology, resulting in its sensitivity rate of 86.66 percent. There were no false positive cases leading to the specificity rate of 100 percent. Conclusion Imprint cytology has been found to be highly sensitive and specific method for detecting metastases in axillary lymph nodes of breast carcinoma patients.