Retrospective c‐erbB‐2 immunostaining in aspiration cytology of breast cancer

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Abstract
Fifty fine-needle aspiration cytologies of breast that were diagnosed as carcinomas were retrieved from the files and retrospectively evaluated for the expression of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein using standard immunocytochemical methods. Corresponding histologic sections of all tumors were similarly studied. Seventeen fine-needle aspirates (34%) reacted positively for the presence of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein. All but one (32%) of the corresponding tissue sections were also positive for c-erbB-2 by immunohistochemistry. All positive cases were infiltrative ductal carcinomas with a preponderance of the comedo type. Positive reactions were localized in the cytoplasmic membrane of tumor cells. The staining was either present in all cells throughout a tumor, or it was completely absent. We conclude that immunocytochemistry for c-erbB-2 oncoprotein can be performed on fine-needle aspiration cytology samples that are previously fixed and stained with the Papanicolaou technique. Furthermore, the sensitivity of immunostaining results are comparable to that obtained in histologic sections. Diagn Cytopathol 1994; 11:262–265.