Intraoperative Touch Imprint Cytology Research Articles

Intraoperative Touch Imprint Cytology of Brain Neoplasms: A Useful High-Diagnostic Tool in 93 Consecutive Cases; Differential Diagnoses, Pitfalls, and Traps.

Intraoperative cytological examination of central nervous system (CNS) lesions was first introduced in 1920 by Eisenhardt and Cushing for rapid evaluation of neurosurgical specimens and to guide surgical treatment. It is recognized that this method not only confirms the adequacy of biopsy in CNS samples but also indicates the presence and preliminary diagnosis of lesional tissue. A total of 93 patients who underwent touch imprint cytology (TIC) for CNS tumors or lesions between 2018 and 2023 were included in the study. All cases were correlated with the final histopathological diagnosis, and pitfalls and difficulties encountered with discrepancies were noted. The most common primary CNS tumors were gliomas and meningiomas, while secondary (metastatic) tumors were predominantly lung, breast, and gastrointestinal system carcinomas. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for diagnosis with TIC were 94.1%, 100%, and 61.5%, respectively. Final histopathological diagnosis by TIC was made in 88 cases (94.6%) and the discrepancy was found in 5 cases (5.37%). Three of the five discrepancies (3.2%) were haematolymphoid malignancies (two lymphomas and one plasma cell neoplasia), one glioblastoma, and one hemangioblastoma case. TIC is a fast, safe, and inexpensive diagnostic tool used during intraoperative neuropathology consultation. Awareness of the pitfalls of using this method during intraoperative consultation will enable high-diagnostic accuracy.

Role of intraoperative touch imprint cytology and immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of metastatic malignancies in the central nervous system: Cyto-histomorphological findings and differential diagnosis.

Brain metastases (BMs) are intracranial neoplasms that are more common in adults than primary brain tumors, causing significant mortality and morbidity in cancer patients. This study aimed to evaluate the definitive histopathological diagnosis using touch imprint cytology and the importance and use of immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of primary origin. Cytological, paraffin section, and immunohistochemical study slides of all metastatic brain tumors consecutively consulted at the pathology department between 2018 and 2023 were evaluated. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of patients' diagnostic results who underwent imprint cytology were compared based on the final diagnosis histopathological report. A total of 45 patients with and without intraoperative consultation were included in the study. The definitive histopathologic diagnosis and the diagnostic accuracy rate of imprint cytology for distinguishing glial and metastatic tumors on paraffin sections was 100%. Immunohistochemistry was performed in all patients (except one patient; immediate exitus) and histological classification of the primary tumor was performed by analysis of clinical findings and biomarkers. The primary origins of metastatic tumors were often lung and breast, with adenocarcinoma subtype histomorphology, cerebral hemispheres, and discrete foci of metastasis. TPs is a simple and rapid technique that supports diagnosis in intraoperative neuropathology and is a very cost-effective procedure. The pathologist's experience is the key factor in the diagnosis and reduces the need for a frozen section. In our series, the final histopathologic correlation of imprint cytology in the diagnosis of primary and metastatic tumors is 100%.

Application value of rapid immunocytochemistry for intraoperative touch imprint cytology diagnosis of axillary sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer

目的： 探索快速免疫细胞化学技术（RICC）应用于乳腺癌术中腋窝前哨淋巴结（SLN）印片检查的可行性及准确性。 方法： 收集2020—2021年复旦大学附属肿瘤医院乳腺癌患者术中送检的SLN，大体观察SLN转移情况，同时行细胞学印片（TIC）及RICC检测并分别计数染色操作和阅片时长，RICC检测指标为广谱细胞角蛋白（CKpan），术后均行组织学检查。对TIC及RICC诊断所需时间、灵敏度、特异度、阳性预测值、阴性预测值及准确率等进行评价。 结果： 本实验共入组138枚SLN，共检出32枚阳性SLN。其中6枚淋巴结TIC、RICC、组织学三者结果不一致；术中TIC的灵敏度、特异度、阳性预测值、阴性预测值及准确率分别为84.38%、100%、100%、95.50%及96.38%，RICC分别为96.88%、100%、100%、99.07%及99.28%。尤其在大体未见肯定阳性的SLN中，TIC的灵敏度仅为37.50%，RICC可将灵敏度提高至87.50%。RICC平均染色加阅片时长为19.19 min。 结论： 术中SLN印片的RICC诊断较单纯TIC诊断具有较高的灵敏度；染色时长及阅片时长可适用于术中诊断场景，在辅助术中SLN细胞学诊断中具有良好的应用前景。.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Intraoperative Touch Imprint Cytology for the Diagnosis of Axillary Sentinel Lymph Node Metastasis of Breast Cancer: Comparison With Intraoperative Frozen Section Evaluation.

IntroductionThe intraoperative frozen section is a recommended method to detect breast cancer metastasis to axillary sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs); however, frozen section is not widely available and requires an experienced staff. Alternatively, touch imprint cytology (TIC) is a simple and cost-effective technique to detect metastasis. Therefore, in this study, we assessed the diagnostic accuracy of TIC for detecting SLN metastasis and compared it with intraoperative frozen section evaluation.MethodologyA retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Histopathology, Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, for a duration of two years. A total of 114 patients undergoing surgery for primary breast cancer were included in the study. All patients had clinically and radiologically negative axillary lymph nodes. SLN sampling was done using radioactive dye and sent for intraoperative consultation. The SLNs were sliced at 4-mm intervals and two TIC slides and three step-levels for frozen section were prepared, and the results were compared with final (paraffin) section histology.ResultsThe sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of TIC was 83.7%, 98.5%, and 92.1%, respectively. Alternatively, the sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of frozen section was 93.9%, 100%, and 97.4%, respectively. The sensitivity of TIC and frozen section for detecting micrometastasis was 14.3% and 57.1%, respectively, with a diagnostic accuracy of 90.3% and 95.8%, respectively. Alternatively, with respect to macrometastasis, the sensitivity and specificity of TIC were 95.2% and 98.5%, respectively, while the sensitivity and specificity of frozen section were 100%.ConclusionTIC is a quick and effective technique for detecting breast cancer metastasis in axillary SLNs. Although frozen section had an overall higher sensitivity than TIC, the sensitivity of TIC for detecting macrometastasis was comparable to the frozen section. Therefore, we conclude that TIC is a good alternative to the frozen section in facilities where the frozen section is not available.

Prospective Comparison of Intraoperative Touch Imprint Cytology and Frozen Section Histology on Axillary Sentinel Lymph Nodes in Early Breast Cancer Patients

Introduction: Since the late 1970s, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has been used for several solid malignancies to identify lymph node metastases. This procedure is associated with less surgical morbidity than complete lymphadenectomy. Recent evidence suggests that axillary lymphadenectomy is not required for breast sentinel nodes with micrometastases (≤2 mm). Current clinical management of sentinel nodes indicates that only macrometastases (>2 mm) should be detected intraoperatively. In Japan, an intraoperative histopathological frozen section (FS) method is used to identify lymph node metastases, but this method takes more than 30 min and requires complex techniques and expensive equipment. Touch imprint cytology (TIC) is an easier, less expensive, and faster method, but its sensitivity has been shown to be low. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if TIC is more useful than FS in identifying macrometastases in sentinel lymph nodes in preoperative node-negative breast cancer operations. Methods: A prospective review of 49 consecutive patients with node-negative breast cancer treated with SLNB and intraoperative TIC and FS between November 2017 and June 2019 was performed. TIC samples were stained using Papanicolaou and Diff-Quick stains. Results were compared with routine postoperative paraffin sections. Results: With TIC, the Papanicolaou stain took a mean of 12 min, and the Diff-Quick stain took a mean of 10 min. Results of both TIC stain methods were the same. In contrast, the FS method took a mean of 80 min (including the transfer of specimens to a different hospital with the necessary equipment). TIC confirmed macrometastases in 5 cases. All macrometastases were diagnosed equally by the 2 techniques. Both the sensitivity and specificity of TIC were 100% for detection of macrometastases. Conclusion: TIC of SLNB for breast cancer is an easy and useful method for the detection of macrometastases of breast sentinel nodes.

The value and practical utility of intraoperative touch imprint cytology of sentinel lymph node(s) in patients with breast cancer: A retrospective cytology-histology correlation study.

Objective:Intraoperative evaluation of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) for patients with breast cancer is widely performed with frozen section (FS), cytology, or a combination of both. Touch imprint cytology (TIC) reportedly has an equivalent sensitivity to FS. We studied its diagnostic utility to detect SLN metastases.Materials and Methods:Cases of 367 patients with breast cancer who underwent intraoperative valuation of SLNs (507 LNs) were evaluated. All FS and corresponding TIC slides of SLNs of each case were reviewed microscopically for the presence of metastases of any size. If present, the metastatic focus was measured on the FS.Results:Of these 507 SLNs, 82 LNs (16.2%) from 69 women were found to have metastases in the FS and consisted of 5 LNs of isolated tumor cells, 15 of micrometastasis, and 62 of macrometastasis. TIC identified metastases in 69 of these 82 SLNs (sensitivity: 84.1%, specificity: 100%, and accuracy: 97.4%). All macrometastases could be detected by TIC, whereas TIC identified approximately 50% of micrometastases and none of isolated tumor cells. The size detection limit of metastatic foci, defined as the smallest dimension of metastasis detected without false negatives, was 2 mm. The smallest metastatic focus identified was 0.8 mm.Conclusions:TIC of SLNs is of great use given its negative predictive value of 100% for identification of macrometastasis in our study. For intraoperative evaluation of SLNs, based on our data, a practical two-step approach is proposed: SLN evaluation should be initially performed by TIC and then proceed to FS histological analysis only when cytologically positive to determine the size of metastatic focus.

Intraoperative Touch Imprint Cytology in Targeted Axillary Dissection After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer Patients with Initial Axillary Metastasis.

For breast cancer patients, a false-negative rate lower than 10% can be achieved if targeted axillary dissection (TAD) is performed, which includes the excision of both biopsy-proven positive lymph nodes (BxLNs) and sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). However, little evidence exists on the accuracy of intraoperative touch imprint cytology (ITPC) applied in TAD after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for breast cancer patients with initial axillary metastasis. This study aimed to investigate the accuracy of ITPC in TAD after NAC. Breast cancer patients with biopsy-confirmed nodal metastasis were prospectively enrolled in the study. After completion of NAC, all patients underwent TAD followed by axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). Then ITPC was performed to evaluate BxLNs and SLNs. The accuracy of TAD and ITPC was calculated in comparison with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of ALNs. The results of ITPC during 6months at our center in the adjuvant setting were used for comparison . Overall, the false-negative rate of TAD was 10.8%. In a test with 92 patients, ITPC had an accuracy of 92.4%, a sensitivity of 87.9%, and a specificity of 94.9%. In the non-NAC group, ITPC showed similar accuracy (91.2%) and specificity (97.9%) but significantly lower sensitivity (68.9%; P = 0.03). The use of ITPC was feasible for TAD among breast cancer patients with biopsy-confirmed axillary metastasis who were treated with NAC. All the misses in the ITPC involved patients with micrometastases or isolated tumor cells. Use of ITPC can help decrease the number of second operations for patients with residual disease in ALNs after NAC.

Clinical significance of MSKCC nomogram on guiding the application of touch imprint cytology and frozen section in intraoperative assessment of breast sentinel lymph nodes.

The widely practiced intra-operative methods for rapid evaluation and detection of sentinel lymph node (SLN) status include frozen section (FS) and touch imprint cytology (TIC). This study optimized the use of TIC and FS in the intra-operative detection of breast SLNs based on the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) nomogram. Three hundred forty-two SLNs were removed from 79 patients. SLN metastatic probability was assessed by the MSKCC nomogram. The SLNs underwent intra-operative TIC and FS, as well as routine post-operative paraffin sections (RPSs). The relationships between TIC, FS, and SLN metastatic probability were analyzed. Overall, TIC was more sensitive than FS (92.31% vs. 76.92%), while TIC specificity was inferior to FS specificity (84.85% vs. 100%). In addition, the best cut-off value for TIC based on the MSKCC nomogram was inferior to the best FS cut-off value (22.5% vs. 34.5%). All patients with a MSKCC value <22.5% in the present study were negative based on FS and RPS, while the true-negative and false-positive rates for TIC were 92.5% and 7.5%, respectively. Thus, early breast cancer patients, based on a MSKCC value <22.5%, can safely avoid FS, but should have TIC performed intra-operatively. Patients with a MSKCC value >22.5% should have TIC and FS to determine the size of metastases, whether or not to proceed with axillary lymph node dissection, and to avoid easily missed metastases.

P105 - Evaluation of intraoperative touch imprint cytology on sentinel nodes in invasive breast carcinomas, a retrospective study of 1,225 patients comparing sensitivity between different tumor subtypes

P105 - Evaluation of intraoperative touch imprint cytology on sentinel nodes in invasive breast carcinomas, a retrospective study of 1,225 patients comparing sensitivity between different tumor subtypes

Is intraoperative touch imprint cytology indicated in the surgical treatment of early breast cancers?

IntroductionIntraoperative touch imprint cytology (TIC) of the sentinel lymph node(s) (SLN(s)) in the treatment of breast cancer has significantly reduced the number of axillary block dissections (ABD) required during second surgeries. Based on recent studies, ABD was not considered necessary if the presence of tumor cells/micrometastasis was confirmed in the SLN(s) or in the case of macrometastases in a patient group meeting the inclusion criteria for the ACOSOG Z0011 study. Our aim was to determine the sensitivity and usefulness of TIC with regard to these results. MethodsTICs of the SLN(s) were examined in 1168 patients operated on for breast cancer. The method was also analyzed retrospectively based on the guidelines for the Z0011 study. During TIC, new samples were cut every 250 μm; impression smears were evaluated after being stained with hematoxylin eosin. ResultsTIC confirmed metastasis in 202 cases (202/1168, 17.29%). Metastasis was confirmed in SLN(s) in 149 additional cases during a final histological examination. The sensitivity of TIC was found to be 57.18%, and its specificity was 99.63%. An analysis was then performed except for cases that met the inclusion criteria for the Z0011 study and with metastasis smaller than 2 mm (micrometastasis/isolated tumor cells) considered to be positive during intraoperative cytology. The sensitivity of the method decreased to 34.23%, while its specificity was still high at 99.76%. ConclusionsBased on the new guidelines for ABD, imprint cytology cannot be considered a beneficial and cost-effective intervention in the surgical treatment of early breast cancer.

“Intraoperative Touch Imprint Cytology of Sentinel Nodes”, Can it Serve as an Alternative to Frozen Section? – A Prospective Comparative Study of Touch Imprint Cytology and Frozen Section in the Intra Operative Assessment of Nodal Metastasis in Carcinoma Breast.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is now known to offer an excellent alternative method to routine axillary lymph node dissection in staging of breast cancer. However, this minimally invasive technique requires facilities for frozen section (FS) and intraoperative analysis, which are sadly not available at most centers in India. At the same time Touch imprint cytology (TIC), is relatively less cumbersome technique for intraoperative assessment which may provide a fast and accurate method for intraoperative assessment of sentinel lymph nodes. Aim: This study was done to assess the accuracy and feasibility of using the TIC as an alternative to FS to assess metastasis in the sentinel node. Methods: Touch imprint cytological analysis of sentinel lymph nodes was compared prospectively with frozen section and the findings obtained on routine paraffin sections. Touch imprint slides from 32 consecutive women undergoing mastectomies (from Jan 2014 to May 2016) for invasive breast cancer (all 32 were T1-T3 and with clinically N0 nodal status) were prepared during operation from multiple sections of sentinel lymph nodes, stained with haematoxylin and eosin. Results: The sensitivity of TIC was 89.47% (95% CI, 68.49-98.81%), when compared with the final histopathological result as a gold standard method. The sensitivity of the FS was 94.74% (95% CI 73.97% to 99.87%), when compared to the HPE results. The specificity of the TIC and FS when compared to HPE is 100%. Conclusion: This study has lent credibility to the possible use of TIC as an assessment tool of the sentinel node in centers where facilities for frozen section are not available and hence expanding the population of potential beneficiaries who can be spared of morbidity associated with axillary dissection

Confounding Factors and Diagnostic Accuracy of Imprint Cytology

Background: Eradication of malignant tumors at the primary site with oncological safe margin is a critical requirement for obtaining better survival rate and less recurrence. Touch imprint cytology (TIC) has proven itself as a quick, simple, inexpensive, highly accurate and reliable intraoperative technique to assess surgical margins in squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity. However, it is still unclear how the mode of excision, i.e. by scalpel (SC) and electrocautery (EC), or the method of staining, i.e. Papanicolaou (PAP) and cytohaem, affect the diagnostic accuracy of TIC. Objective: To study the influence of confounding factors like mode of excision (EC/SC) and staining (PAP/cytohaem) on the diagnostic accuracy of intraoperative TIC technique for assessing surgical margins in oral squamous cell carcinoma in comparison to paraffin-embedded HE-stained sections. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients underwent surgical treatment for primary oral squamous cell carcinoma. Three hundred and forty-eight touch imprint slides were prepared from 174 margins of 30 resected tumor specimens. Two adjacent tissues from the margin to be evaluated were imprinted to observe differences between surfaces excised by EC and SC. The set of imprint from each margin tissue was stained with PAP and cytohaem. The TIC results of 180 EC-excised margins and 168 SC-excised margins were compared. Results of 174 imprints stained with RAPID-PAP were compared to their counterpart comprising of 174 cytohaem-stained imprints. The slides were diagnosed as positive, negative or suspicious for tumor. Finally, TIC results were checked against their respective histopathological sections. Results: No statistically significant difference was found between the results of imprints from EC/SC-excised margins (Z = 0.44, p = 0.70) or the imprints stained with PAP/cytohaem (Z = 0.44, p = 0.70). Conclusion: Confounding factors like mode of excision and staining procedure do not significantly influence the results of imprint cytology.

Is intra-operative touch imprint cytology of sentinel lymph nodes for breast cancer cost-effective in a district general hospital setting?

Is intra-operative touch imprint cytology of sentinel lymph nodes for breast cancer cost-effective in a district general hospital setting?

Intraoperative Imprint Evaluation of Surgical Margins in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a multifactorial malignant epithelial neoplasm. Tumor clearance at the surgical margins in OSCC is a critical factor which strongly influences both the local recurrence and overall survival rate. A quick and accurate intraoperative diagnostic procedure can make a significant difference to the survival rate. Touch imprint cytology (TIC) has commonly been used in the past for the diagnosis of tumors and the detection of sentinel lymph node metastasis. It is routinely applied for intraoperative margin analysis of breast lumpectomy specimens, where it has been proven to have a good success rate. The effectiveness and reliability of TIC in the intraoperative margin evaluation of OSCC, however, has not been established so far. Objective: To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the intraoperative TIC technique for assessing surgical margins in OSCC in comparison to paraffin-embedded hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections. Materials and Methods: Thirty previously untreated, biopsy-proven OSCC patients undergoing surgical treatment between December 2008 and September 2010 were included. Patients diagnosed with histological variants of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) or recurrent tumor were excluded. Three hundred forty-eight touch imprint slides were prepared from 174 margins of 30 resected tumor specimens. Imprints from tumor proper were taken as positive controls. The slides were reported as positive, negative or suspicious for tumor. After all cytological interpretation was completed, the results were compared with the corresponding histological diagnosis. Results: This pioneer study showed that TIC has an overall accuracy of 83%, sensitivity of 91.1%, specificity of 74.4%, positive predictive value of 79.2% and a negative predictive value of 88.6%. The false-positive margins evaluated by TIC were 43 (12.3%) and the false-negative ones were 16 (4.6%). Conclusion: TIC is a quick, simple, inexpensive, highly accurate and reliable intraoperative technique to assess surgical margins in SCC of the oral cavity.

Intraoperative imprint cytology for breast cancer sentinel nodes: is it worth it?

Re-operative surgery is stressful for patients and is an additional burden to an already stretched public health system. Intraoperative confirmation of breast cancer metastases in sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) provides the necessary information for the surgeon to proceed with immediate axillary dissection, avoiding the need for a second operation, its associated cost, morbidity and adjuvant treatment delays. Our challenge was to implement a technique that was rapid, inexpensive and had a negligible false positive rate. The aim of this study was to determine whether touch imprint cytology (TIC) could reduce returns to theatre without compromising patient safety and pathology department and operating theatre efficiency. Intraoperative TIC was performed on bisected SLNs from 134 patients. Post-operatively, specimens were examined as haematoxylin and eosin-stained, paraffin-embedded 2-mm sections. Further sectioning and immunohistochemisty was performed on negative SLNs. The sensitivity of TIC for metastases was 23.8%, the specificity was 100% and the accuracy was 76.1%. Ten patients with macrometastases and none with micrometastastes were detected intraoperatively. The sensitivity of TIC for detecting macrometastases was 34.5%, the accuracy was 78.4% and the specificity was 100%. Ten patients avoided a subsequent surgery. The technique caused no theatre delays and the minimal cost was compensated for by the avoidance of a second procedure for a third of patients who definitively required axillary clearance. No patients had an unnecessary axillary clearance and no patients with micrometastases or isolated tumour cells were subjected to an immediate axillary clearance. It would be justifiable to continue this simple, low-cost and non-disruptive approach.

Correlation between histological characteristics and intra-operative touch imprint cytology in axillary sentinel lymph nodes.

Introduction: Touch Imprint Cytology (TIC) has been routinely performed during sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy in our unit since 2005. Low sensitivity remains a potential drawback of this quick and simple method. The correlation between histological characteristics and TIC sensitivity has been evaluated in this large series.

Touch imprint cytology in axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy - a series of 1522 cases over 5 years

Introduction: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) using radioisotope +/- blue dye has been carried out for five years in our unit as an axillary staging procedure for breast cancer. We carry out intra-operative touch imprint cytology (TIC) using the single longitudinal bisection technique followed by full histological analysis of the sentinel lymph nodes. This study reviews data collected over a 5 year period to determine the sensitivity and specificity of TIC in practice and reports overall rates of SLNB positivity and negativity.

Comparing touch imprint cytology, frozen section analysis, and cytokeratin immunostaining for intraoperative evaluation of axillary sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has been applied to the management of breast carcinoma inorder to decrease postoperative complication and morbidity. Touch imprint cytology (TIC), frozen section (FS), scrape cytology, or combination of these methods are used as intraoperative diagnostic methods. However, the sensitivity of these intraoperative modalities for detecting metastatic disease in SLNs is not equivalent to permanent histopathologic examination as a gold standard method. The aim of this study was to review our department's results with SLN biopsy using touch imprint and frozen section for intraoperative diagnosis of breast cancer metastasis. Immunohistochemistry for cytokeratin was used on permanent sections. The sensitivities and specificities of TIC with those of FS analysis and IHC were also compared. A total of 100 consecutive SLN biopsies from 49 patients performed. The TIC and subsequently frozen were stained using hematoxylin and eosin. The cytological and frozen findings were compared and results were reported to the surgeon during operation. Final pathologic evaluation was performed on the formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections. Analysis of the permanent tissue included evaluation of three-step sections of the lymph node by H&E and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. The sensitivities, specificities, positive and negative predictive values of TIC, FS and IHC for the detection of metastatic tumor in the SLNs were determined with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). One hundred SLNs were examined from 49 patients with invasive breast carcinoma with mean age of 45.29 ° 10.6 years. Intraoperative TIC and FS failed to show metastatic involvement in 10 examined lymph nodes from three patients. No false positive results for TIC and FS was identified. The sensitivity of TIC compared with the final histopathological result, considered the gold standard, was 90% (CI, 68.49-98.81%). Similarly, the sensitivities of frozen sections and permanent were the same respectively. The specificities of TIC, FS, and permanent were 100% (CI, 94.95-100.00). The sensitivity of touch imprint cytology compared with the final histopathological result, considered the gold standard, was 90% (CI, 68.49--98.81%). Similarly, the sensitivities of frozen sections and permanent were the same respectively. The specificities of TIC, FS, and permanent were 100% (CI, 94.95-100.00). Our experience with TI and FS for the intraoperative evaluation of SLNs is similar to the findings from previously reported studies. We detected the same sensitivities for these two methods; however lower sensitivity of TI in detecting metastasis with higher false-negative rate has been addressed in the published literature. The 90% sensitivity of TI and FS with permanent histopathologic examination as the gold standard falls within the range of reported sensitivities: 33-96% for TI and 44-100% for FS. However, variations in patient selection criteria, experience of the pathologist, skill of the technician submitting specimen for intraoperative evaluation, and tumor size are important variables that influence the results.

Intra-operative Touch Imprint Cytology (TIC) of axillary lymph nodes: a feasibility study for the Conquest Hospital

Intra-operative Touch Imprint Cytology (TIC) of axillary lymph nodes: a feasibility study for the Conquest Hospital

Role of Intra-Operative Touch Imprint Cytology in the Treatment of Breast Cancer

Objectives : A prospective study was carried out to evaluate the role of intra-operative touch imprint cytology (TIC) in the assessment of sentinel lymph node (SLN) involvement for staging and treatment of early-stage, clinically node-negative breast carcinoma.Methods : Forty-five patients with early-stage, clinically node-negative breast cancer underwent a SLN biopsy with intra-operative TIC. The SLN was bisected if its width was less than 4 mm or sliced every 2 mm if it was more than 4 mm. The imprint specimens were stained with haematoxylin and eosin (H&E). Rapid immunochemistry (IH) was performed in case of equivocal cytological result. Permanent sections were evaluated with H&E and IH staining. The results of TIC were compared to histopathological results.Results : The sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy of TIC on a node basis were 65.5%, 96.3%, 85.5%, respectively. When calculated according to the size of SLN metastasis, the sensitivity of TIC for overt metastasis was 84.6%, while it was 62.5% for micrometastasis and 37.5% for sub-micrometastasis. The mean size of nodal metastasis was 5.08 mm and 1.25 mm for true positive and false negative results, respectively (P = 0.0236). Because of intra-operative TIC, 76.5% of the patients who needed further axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) could undergo this during the same operating time.Conclusions : TIC is a rapid and reliable method for the intra-operative assessment of metastatic sentinel node involvement in patients with early-stage, clinically node-negative breast carcinoma. Despite a low sensitivity comparable to frozen section (FS) in detecting micro-and sub-micrometastases, the technique offers the advantage of full tissue preservation for subsequent histological analysis.