Touch Smears Research Articles

Кариопатическое действие биопрепарата Bacillus subtilis 12В на состояние сперматогенного эпителия животных при воздействии гельминтов

Objective of research: to study the caryopathic effect of bio-preparation Bacillus subtilis
 12В on the status of spermatogenic epithelium of white mice after a single intra-abdominal
 administration of the Fasciola hepatica extract.
 Materials and methods: The investigations were conducted on white male mice after oral
 use of preparation Sporovite based on B. subtilis 12B; then the intra-abdominal injection of F.
 hepatica extracts at a dose of 100 mkg/head was applied. The protein extract from F. hepatica
 was administered to mice of the second group, and animals of the third group received only
 the probiotic Sporovite. Animals of the fourth group did not get the preparation and served as
 controls. 48 hours later the animals were killed; touch smears obtained from testis were stained
 by the Romanovsky method and examined under a microscope what enables to determine the mitotic index and the number of pathological meiosis forms. The experiments were conducted
 on lambs whose seminal vesicles were placed into a solution of 10% Formalin and examined
 histologically. 2-3μ-thick slices were stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin by Van Gieson method
 and examined under a microscope at 50, 400 and 1000 x magnifications.
 Results and discussion: During the pathomorphological and caryomitotic studies of testis
 of white mice and lambs after administration of Sporovite on the background of intra-abdominal
 injection of F. hepatica extract the reduction of negative effects on the status of spermatogenic
 epithelium of testis in animals wasn’t observed. A decrease in mitotic index by 2-3 times and a
 high amount of pathological forms were registered. The number of metaphases with preterm
 chromosome disjunction under the joint effect of F. hepatica and B. subtilis extracts has decreased
 by half.

Touch Smears and Frozen Tissue from Fine Needle Core Biopsies for Extended Molecular Testing: An Early Experience with Tissue Collection for Minimally Invasive Individualized Cancer Medicine

Touch Smears and Frozen Tissue from Fine Needle Core Biopsies for Extended Molecular Testing: An Early Experience with Tissue Collection for Minimally Invasive Individualized Cancer Medicine

Chlorellosis: An emerging algal disease of Animals and Humans

Chlorellosis, an emerging opportunistic algal disease, is reported from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, Sudan and USA. The disease is caused by Chlorella, a ubiquitous alga, which has been recovered from diverse natural substrates including water. Sporadic cases of cutaneous and systemic chlorellosis are recorded in humans and many species of animals. Most cases in cattle are accidentally detected during meat inspection in abattoirs. The incidence of disease is usually high in areas of wetlands with poor sanitation. The source of infection is exogenous and immunosuppression, skin trauma and heavy environmental exposure are considered as the predisposing factors. The exact mode of transmission is not yet clearly established. Disseminated disease occurs in severely immunocompromised individuals. Microscopic examination of wet mounts of wound exudates or touch smears from infected tissues may help to observe bright green pigment granules of Chlorella. However, transmission electron microscopy can support the diagnosis of disease. Currently, molecular tools have been applied to confirm Chlorella infection. The surgical excision of affected part remains the only choice of disease management. Removal of animals from the affected area, avoiding barbed wire injury, algicidal treatment of water and immediate attention to superficial wound may be effective strategies to control chlorellosis. Further studies on the ecology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, epidemiology, and chemotherapy are needed to get a better insight of this unusual emerging pseudofungal disease. It is recommended that the efficacy of “PHOL” and “Narayan” stain to undertake the detailed microscopic morphology of Chlorella isolates and Pal sunflower seed medium for the isolation of Chlorella from clinical and environmental material should be investigated.

術中捺印細胞診標本に赤痢アメーバ栄養型を認めた大腸潰瘍出血性穿孔炎の 1 例

Herein, we report a case of amebic dysentery, focusing on the cytological findings. Emergency surgery was performed on a 48-year-old man with a perforated and hemorrhagic ulcer in the ascending colon of unknown etiology. Touch smear cytology of the resected specimen revealed entamoeba trophozoites. The trophozoites showed strongly positive PAS staining. Characteristically, red blood cells phagocytosed by the trophozoites were found, confirming that the protozoan was Entamoeba histolytica. Smear cytology with PAS staining is useful to identify Entamoeba histolytica in colonic ulcer patients with amebic dysentery.

Tissue eosinophilia: a morphological marker for assessing stromal invasion in squamous neoplasms of the larynx

Background: The assessment of tumour invasion in squamous neoplasms of the larynx poses a diagnostic challenge, especially in small biopsies that are frequently sectioned tangentially. Eosinophilic infi ltration is thought to be an adjunctive criterion in determining tumour invasion. We investigated whether thresholds of eosinophilic infi ltration in laryngeal squamous neoplasms would aid in determining the presence of invasion. Materials and Methods: Fifty cases of invasive squamous carcinoma, preinvasive squamous neoplasms and benign squamous neoplasms were evaluated. The number of eosinophils per high power field and per 10 high power fields in the stroma adjacent to the neoplastic epithelium were counted and tabulated. For statistical purposes, the elevated eosinophils were defi ned and categorized as: focally and moderately elevated (5-9/HPF), focally and markedly elevated (>10/HPF), diffusely and moderately elevated (5- 19/10HPF), and diffusely and markedly increased (>20/10/HPF). Results: Eosinophil counts were elevated focally and/or diffusely more frequently in invasive squamous carcinoma than in noninvasive tumours. The increased eosinophil counts, specifically >10/HPF and >20/10HPF, were statistically significantly associated with stromal invasion. Greater than 10/HPF and >20/10HPF had sensitivity, specifi city and positive predictive values of 23%,100%, 100% and 11%,100% and 100% respectively. Cytology was able to diagnose 33 out of 36 malignant cases. Of 17 cases which were diagnosed as benign on cytology, 3 cases turned out to be malignant on biopsy. The sensitivity and specifi city of touch smear cytology are 91.6% and 100% respectively. Conclusion: The elevated eosinophil count in squamous neoplasms of larynx is a morphologic feature associated with presence of tumour invasion. When the number of infiltrating eosinophils exceeds 10/ HPF and or >20/10HPF in a laryngeal biopsy with squamous neoplasm, it represents an indicator for the possibility of tumour invasion. Similarly, the presence of eosinophils meeting these thresholds in an excisional specimen should prompt a thorough evaluation for invasiveness, when evidence of invasion is absent or is suspected by conventional criteria in the initial sections. Journal of Pathology of Nepal (2013) Vol. 3, No.1, Issue 5, 374-378 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jpn.v3i5.7861

Optimization of a cytologic and bacteriological assessment of a pathological secret at chronic duktoforit at women with a mastopatiya

The given paper describes high efficiency of detecting chronic inflammation of the mammary ducts (96.2 %) in women with mastopathy by enlargement of cellular composition by means of optimization for the technique of intraductal secretion sampling with the help of mammary duct lavage in comparison with exfoliative method (touch smear) (24.8 %, p < 0.001). The technique of sampling with the help of mammary duct lavage increases detectability of pathogenic flora (82.7 %, p < 0.001) by 2.6 times in comparison with exfoliative method (31.6 %, p < 0.001). It has been established that preliminary sanitation of secerning ducts of a mammary gland prior to ductography increases by 10 times information value for detecting distorting inflammation of the mammary ducts (24.7 %) in comparison with contrast mammography without preliminary ductal lavage (2.5 %, p < 0.001).

Evaluation of touch smears cytology and biopsy findings in the diagnosis of gastric carcinoma

Background: Gastric carcinoma is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths worldwide, with a mortality rate directly related to the stage at diagnosis. Endoscopic biopsy and cytology are well established techniques for the diagnosis of carcinoma of stomach.Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 50 patients, suspected of gastric cancer on endoscopy, during a period of 18 months (October 2010 to March 2012). Endoscopic biopsy and touch smear cytology were evaluated. Biopsy was considered gold standard for final diagnosis.Results: A total of 50 cases were included out of which 36 were malignant and 14 cases were benign. Cytology was able to diagnose 33 out of 36 malignant cases. Of 17 cases which were diagnosed as benign on cytology, 3 cases turned out to be malignant on biopsy. The sensitivity and specificity of touch smear cytology are 91.6% and 100% respectively.Conclusion: Touch smear cytology is a useful adjunct in the diagnosis of gastric carcinoma and should be considered a routine method along with biopsy.Journal of Pathology of Nepal (2012) Vol. 2, 282-284DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jpn.v2i4.6878

Gene amplification ofESR1in breast cancers—fact or fiction? A fluorescencein situhybridization and multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification study

Oestrogen receptor-alpha (ERα), encoded by the ESR1 gene located on 6q25, is a nuclear transcription factor. Since it was reported in 2007 that more than 20% of breast cancers show ESR1 gene amplification, there has been considerable controversy about its frequency and clinical significance. We set out to assess the frequency and levels of ESR1 amplification in breast cancers. In a total of 106 breast needle biopsy specimens examined by immunohistochemistry, 78 tumours contained more than 10% ERα-positive cancer cells. In fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis with an ESR1-specific probe, variously extended ESR1 signals were found in ERα-expressing cells. Some of these were indistinguishable from large clustered signals generally accepted to mean high-level gene amplification in homogeneously staining regions (HSRs), and could be considered to represent gene amplification. However, with RNase treatment, the 'HSR-like' signals changed to small compact signals, and are thus thought to represent concentrated RNA. FISH using two differently labelled probes corresponding to the non-overlapping 5'- and 3'-end portions of the ESR1 gene on touch smears showed a preserved spatial relationship of the 3' to 5' sequence of ESR1, therefore strongly suggesting that the RNA consisted of primary transcripts. Using touch smears obtained from 51 fresh tumours, precise enumeration of ESR1 signals with a correction by the number of centromere 6 on FISH after RNase A treatment revealed that three tumours (5.9%) had tumour cells with one to three additional copies of ESR1 as predominant subpopulations. This infrequent and low level of gene amplification of ESR1 was also detected as a 'gain' of the gene by analysis with multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). The consistent results from immunohistochemistry, FISH, and MLPA in the present study settle the long-standing debate concerning gene amplification of ESR1 in breast carcinoma.

胸腺高分化神経内分泌癌（非定型的カルチノイド）の１例

We report a case of thymic well-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma (atypical carcinoid) in a 68-year-old woman. Intraoperative tumor touch smear results showed loose aggregates of epithelial cells with rich cytoplasm. These cells had variably-sized round to oval nuclei accompanying “salt and pepper” chromatin. Although no necrosis was found, a few mitotic figures were observed. We diagnosed the lesion cytologically as thymic well-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma (atypical carcinoid). Immunocytochemical results showed tumor cells to be positive for synaptophysin. This report highlights the need for carefully observing mitotic figures when diagnosing thymic carcinoid.

Diagnosis of malignant lesion of the stomach by Direct Vision Biopsy and its Touch Smear Cytology

Diagnosis of malignant lesion of the stomach by Direct Vision Biopsy and its Touch Smear Cytology

Usefulness of intraoperative touch smear cytology in breast-conserving surgery

In breast-conserving surgery, positive margins are closely related to intramammary recurrence, but methods of assessing resection stumps during breast-conserving surgery have not been standardized. The present study investigated the usefulness of intraoperative touch smear cytology in our department. From 2005 to 2008, a total of 420 patients underwent breast cancer surgery. Subjects comprised 160 patients who underwent breast-conserving surgery and touch smear cytology. Results of the touch smear cytology were compared to those of the histological tissue analysis. Touch smear cytology displayed 70% sensitivity (14/20), 97.1% specificity (136/140) and a diagnostic accuracy of 93.8% (150/160). Six false-negative cases and 4 false-positive cases were identified. Of the 6 false-negatives, cancer cells were noted in the ductal component in 5 cases, and the degree of cancer cell atypia in the stump was low. Residual cancer cells were noted in the stump in 18 cases, and additional resection was performed in 16 cases. Cancer cells were identified histologically in the additionally resected tissue in 8 of these 16 cases (50%). The direction of positive cytology was towards the nipple in 16 cases, lateral tissue in 5 cases and contralateral nipple in 2 cases. A greater cancer cell volume, as assessed by touch smear cytology, tended to be associated with higher frequency of positive margins, as assessed by histological tissue analysis. Touch smear cytology is easy to perform, offering a very useful technique yielding comparable results to histological tissue analysis.

Immunohistochemical and electron microscopy studies of a case of hyalinizing trabecular tumor of the thyroid gland, with special consideration of the hyalinizing mass associated with it

Hyalinizing trabecular tumor (HTT) of the thyroid gland is rare and benign, and it neither recurs nor metastasizes. In this lesion, tumor cells are arranged in trabeculae, in association with hyalinizing mass in the stroma. The origin and nature of the hyalinizing mass are still controversial. We report here a case of HTT with cytological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural findings, focused in particular on the hyalinizing mass. Cytologically, tumor cells exhibiting many intranuclear cytoplasmic inclusions and nuclear grooves were found in association with light green-positive, irregular, fluffy membranous structures on touch smear. Staining with antibody to collagen type IV was positive in these membranous structures. Histopathologically, tumor cells exhibited many intranuclear cytoplasmic inclusions, and were positive for staining with antibodies to S100 protein, neuron-specific enolase, thyroglobulin, and vimentin. The hyalinizing eosinophilic mass, which was positive for PAS reaction, and for staining by antibody to collagen type IV, gradually increased in the areas surrounding tumor cells. This mass then appeared to replace the tumor cells, and exhibited a peculiar filiform pattern. We demonstrated ultrastructurally that this pattern was composed of long, irregular, fine cytoplasmic processes of tumor cells and basal lamina-like substance in the hyalinizing mass. In fact, the homogeneous hyalinizing mass, similar to basal lamina-like substance, contained many degenerated cytoplasmic processes at the ultrastructural level. These results suggested that the key cytological finding in differentiating HTT from papillary carcinoma is the fluffy membranous structure, although nuclear pseudoinclusions are important as well. The filiform pattern noted at light microscopic level consisted of long cytoplasmic processes of tumor cells and hyalinized mass at the ultrastructural level.

Usefulness of intraoperative touch smear cytology in breast-conserving surgery.

Abstract Abstract #3011 [Objective] In the treatment of breast-conserving surgery, positive margins are closely related to intramammary recurrence, but methods of assessing resection stumps during breast-conserving surgery have not been standardized. The present study investigated the usefulness of intraoperative touch smear cytology at our department.
 [Subjects and Methods] From 2005 to 2007, a total of 308 patients underwent breast cancer surgery. Subjects comprised 160 patients who underwent breast-conserving surgery and touch smear cytology. Results of touch smear cytology were compared to those of histological tissue analysis.
 [Results] Touch smear cytology displayed 70% sensitivity (14/20), 97.1% specificity (136/140) and a diagnostic accuracy of 93.8% (150/160). Six false-negative cases and 4 false-positive cases were identified. Of the 6 false-negatives, cancer cells were seen in the mammary duct in 5 cases, and the degree of cancer cell atypia in the stump was low. Residual cancer cells were seen in the stump in 18 cases, and additional resection was performed on 16 cases. Cancer cells were identified histologically in the additionally resected tissue in 8 of these 16 cases (50.0%). The direction of positive cytology was towards the mammary papilla in 16 cases, lateral tissue in 5 cases and contralateral mammary papilla in 2 cases. The tendency was that that the greater the cancer cell volume as assessed by touch smear cytology, the higher the frequency of positive margins as assessed by histological tissue analysis.
 [Discussion] Histological tissue analysis and touch smear cytology can be performed to assess resection stumps during breast-conserving surgery. Histological tissue analysis is accurate, but: 1) analyzing all areas of a large resection stump is difficult; 2) preparing high-quality frozen sections is difficult due to the high adipose content of breast tissue; 3) assessing the malignancy of intraductal proliferating lesions is difficult; and 4) part of the tissue sample is damaged. Touch smear cytology is easy to perform, offering a very useful technique yielding comparable results to histological tissue analysis. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 3011.

Comparison of Cytohistologic Techniques in Diagnosis of Gastroesophageal Malignancy

To evaluate the diagnostic performance of various endoscopic cytologic techniques, namely, brushing cytology, touch smear cytology and crush cytology, and comparison with concurrent biopsy results in diagnosis of gastroesophageal malignancy.This prospective study was conducted on 100 patients, with 78 clinically suspected cases of esophageal malignancy and 22 cases of gastric malignancy.The diagnostic accuracy of touch smear in esophageal malignancy was significantly higher (94.12%) than brushing and crush smears (89.71% each), and endoscopic biopsy had the diagnostic accuracy of 88.24%. The diagnostic accuracy of combined brushing and biopsy was 100%; it was 97.06% for touch smears combined with biopsy. In comparison, the diagnostic accuracy in gastric malignancy was 75% for brushing alone, which was significantly lower than touch smear (87.5%) and endoscopic biopsy (87.5%). The diagnostic yield for crush smear was 81.25%. A combination of touch smears and biopsy had a diagnostic yield of 100%; it was 93.75% for combined brushings and biopsy.A combination of cytohistologic techniques resulted in a statistically significant increase in the diagnostic yield of gastroesophageal malignancies and thus cytologic techniques may act as adjunct to biopsy histology to increase the diagnostic efficiency.

First report of visceral leishmaniasis in a German shepherd dog in Fars Province, Southern Iran

A 4-year-old male German shepherd with weight loss, alopecia, skin thickness, cachexia, black diarrhea, abnormal locomotion, and deformed nails was presented to the Veterinary Clinic of Shiraz University. The dog had not responded to antibiotic therapy, vitamin therapy, deworming, and ectoparasite treatment. All joints were intact by radiography. Leukocyte count was markedly raised. The concentrations of triglyceride, cholesterol, and albumin in serum were high. The result of a direct agglutination test for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis was positive (1:320 titer), and a dipstick test (rk39) confirmed visceral leishmaniasis in this case. No parasite was seen in touch smears and culture of spleen or in liver biopsy and bone marrow aspirate. Additionally, the result of polymerase chain reaction using specific primers (RV1, RV2) was negative.

Clinical diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis: A comparison study between standardized graded direct microscopy and ITS1-PCR of Giemsa-stained smears

Parasitological diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis is absolutely necessary before treatment. Direct microscopy of scrapings taken from the margins of skin lesions is the most commonly used method for clinical diagnosis of leishmaniasis. In this study to evaluate the usage of stained smears as samples for PCR and the possible advantage of PCR, we compared the sensitivity of the diagnosis of Giemsa-stained skin scrapings by standardized graded direct microscopy with that of ITS1-PCR with the material of the same area of the slide. Three 5 mm × 5 mm squares were marked on each of the 20 Giemsa-stained touch smears from 20 clinically diagnosed Palestinian patients. Out of the 60 squares scanned for amastigotes under 100× oil-immersion light microscopy, 45 (75%) gave usable results and 23 of these were positive for Leishmania. Fifteen (25%) squares could not be scanned microscopically, 12 because of staining that was too thick and 3 because of inadequate staining. DNA from each scanned square was extracted separately after microscopy and run through ITS1-PCR. Of the 23 microscopy-positive squares, 20 (87%) of these were positive by PCR. Of the three that were negative, one failed to extract for DNA, the second showed only one amastigote in the entire square, and the third was normally graded as +1 but was not amplified for unknown reasons. Of the 22 squares negative for microscopy, 18 (82%) were ITS1-PCR positive. Additionally, all three improperly stained squares were ITS1-PCR positive. Of the 12 darkly stained squares, 11 were positive. A negative control group of 15 German individuals from which Giemsa-stained slides containing three squares each was prepared and these slides were also microscopically scanned and tested by ITS1-PCR. Both tests were negative with both methods. Compared to microscopy (data in parenthesis), PCR showed a sensitivity of 87% (37%) and a specificity of 100% (100%). We have concluded that Giemsa-stained smears are a readily usable sampling method for PCR and that ITS1-PCR is far more sensitive than microscopy.

Combined use of histopathology with touch smear cytology in biopsies of the larynx

The aim of this prospective study is to evaluate the effectiveness of combined use of histopathology with cytology in biopsies of the larynx. Biopsies taken for this purpose are studied by using two different methods and the results are evaluated. One hundred and thirty-five patients with suspected malignant laryngeal lesions were examined by direct microlaryngoscopy for primary diagnosis. Each lesion was biopsied first. Subsequently touch smear cytology was obtained from the biopsies. In all cases, cytologic slides (one or two per biopsy) were screened and compared to corresponding biopsies. Lesions were categorized as benign, laryngeal intraepithelial neoplasia and malignant. Results obtained were compared with surgical samples obtained from patients who have undergone surgery. In other cases, where surgery was not applied, results of the follow-up were evaluated. In larynx biopsies the results for histopathology were as follows: sensitivity 93.9%, specificity 100% and accuracy 96.3%. The results for cytology were as follows: sensitivity 82.5%, specificity 94.5% and accuracy 87.4%. A comparison of cytologic evaluation versus histopathologic evaluation in laryngeal biopsies reveals that histopathology is superior. According to the study results, in 88.9% (120/135) of the cases the agreement between cytological and histopathological results was found. In two other cases (1.5%) cytologic evaluation contributed to the histopathologic diagnosis.

Distinguishing between proliferating nodal lymphoid blasts in chronic myelogenous leukemia and non‐Hodgkin lymphoma: Report of three cases and detection of a bcr/abl fusion signal by single‐cell analysis

Lymph node biopsies were analyzed from three patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) showing nodal blast proliferation. Immunohistochemically, the blasts from all three patients had an immature marker profile with a T-blast population (cCD3+, CD4-, CD7+, CD8-, CD99+, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase +) and a hematopoietic progenitor cell marker (CD34). In two patients, the blasts also expressed myeloid lineage specificity (naphthol AS-D chloroacetate esterase activity and myeloperoxidase positivity). However, it was difficult to distinguish between blast proliferation in CML and non-Hodgkin lymphoma from these immunohistopathological findings alone. Subsequently, bcr gene rearrangement and bcr/abl mRNA expression were detected by Southern blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis of the lymph nodes. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis of lymph node touch smears also disclosed bcr/abl gene fusion signals in the blasts of all patients, confirming that the blasts were derived from Philadelphia chromosome-positive CML. Accurate discrimination between the proliferating nodal blasts of CML and non-Hodgkin lymphoma is essential for determining subsequent therapy. FISH analysis of bcr/abl in single-cell blast preparations is an efficient tool that allows rapid, accurate cytopathological diagnosis of extramedullary blast-phase CML and its discrimination from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Diagnostic clinical application of two-color fluorescencein situhybridization that detects chromosome 1 and 17 alterations to direct touch smear and liquid-based thin-layer cytologic preparations of endometrial cancers

We performed two-color fluorescencein situhybridization (FISH) on direct touch smears and liquid-based thin-layer (ThinPrep) cytological preparations of endometrial tumors to detect alterations of chromosome 1 and 17 that present with high incidence in endometrial cancers. The DNA probes used for two-color FISH analysis were a combination of the probes designed for 17cen (cCI 17-321) and 17p13.3 (D17S34), and a combination of the probes designed for 1q12 (D1Z1) and 1p36 (cCI1-5335). Numerical or structural alterations of chromosome 1 and/or 17 were detected in 95% (19 of 20 cases) of the direct touch smears obtained from endometrial cancer, while these alterations were also detected in 93% (12 of 13 cases) of samples obtained from grade 1 endometrioid adenocarcinoma cases, including three cases that could not be diagnosed as positive by conventional Papanicolaou cytopathologic staining. Using ThinPrep cytopathologic preparations, numerical or structural abnormalities were found in 26 (90%) and five (100%) cases, respectively, of samples obtained transcervically from 29 endometrial cancer and five atypical endometrial hyperplasia cases. Therefore, two-color FISH may be a useful diagnostic method for endometrial adenocarcinoma and premalignant lesions that demonstrate only slight cellular atypia in conventional cytopathologic preparations.

Diagnostic clinical application of two-color fluorescence in situ hybridization that detects chromosome 1 and 17 alterations to direct touch smear and liquid-based thin-layer cytologic preparations of endometrial cancers

We performed two-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on direct touch smears and liquid-based thin-layer (ThinPrep) cytological preparations of endometrial tumors to detect alterations of chromosome 1 and 17 that present with high incidence in endometrial cancers. The DNA probes used for two-color FISH analysis were a combination of the probes designed for 17cen (cCI 17-321) and 17p13.3 (D17S34), and a combination of the probes designed for 1q12 (D1Z1) and 1p36 (cCI1-5335). Numerical or structural alterations of chromosome 1 and/or 17 were detected in 95% (19 of 20 cases) of the direct touch smears obtained from endometrial cancer, while these alterations were also detected in 93% (12 of 13 cases) of samples obtained from grade 1 endometrioid adenocarcinoma cases, including three cases that could not be diagnosed as positive by conventional Papanicolaou cytopathologic staining. Using ThinPrep cytopathologic preparations, numerical or structural abnormalities were found in 26 (90%) and five (100%) cases, respectively, of samples obtained transcervically from 29 endometrial cancer and five atypical endometrial hyperplasia cases. Therefore, two-color FISH may be a useful diagnostic method for endometrial adenocarcinoma and premalignant lesions that demonstrate only slight cellular atypia in conventional cytopathologic preparations.