10 YEARS OF RESPIRATORY CYTO-PATHOLOGY AT DUKE-UNIVERSITY MEDICAL-CENTER .2. THE CYTOPATHOLOGIC DIAGNOSIS OF LUNG-CANCER DURING THE YEARS 1970 TO 1974, WITH A COMPARISON BETWEEN CYTO-PATHOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY IN THE TYPING OF LUNG-CANCER

  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 25  (5) , 499-505
Abstract
Results of the cytopathologic and histopathologic typing of cases of lung cancer seen at Duke University Medical Center from 1970-1974 are presented. Cytopathologic diagnoses of cancer with tissue confirmation were made on 483 specimens from 232 patients. Because original cytologic diagnoses, but not histopathologic diagnoses, had been made in conformity with a modified WHO classification of lung neoplasms, all histopathologic material was reviewed and reclassified in a blind review when necessary. In 94 patients classified by histopathology as having squamous cell carcinoma, 76.4% of the positive cytologic specimens were called squamous cell carcinoma; 18.6% were interpreted as large cell undifferentiated carcinoma. In 39 patients classified by tissue as having large cell undifferentiated carcinoma, the cytology agreed in 42.4% of the positive specimens. For the 29 patients thought histologically to have small cell undifferentiated carcinoma, the same diagnosis was rendered in 95.5% of the cytologically positive specimens from these patients. For the adenocarcinoma group of 43 patients, a cytopathologic diagnosis of adenocarcinoma was made in 67.8% of the positive specimens.