Lymphadenopathy is a sign of inflammation, infections or primary and secondary malignant lesions. Fine needie aspiration was done on a total of 1483 cases with lymphadenopathy. The patients ranged between 2 and 70 years of age. Largest number of aspirates were from the cervical nodes (78.7%). Granulomatous adentis comprised the most common lesion amongst others (38.5%). Non Hodgkin's lymphoma (62.5%) was the more often seen lymphoma and of the metastatic lesions, squamous cell carcinomas (37.2%) was seen commonly. Diagnostic accuracy of 94% was observed. Thus the above study stresses on the ease, simplicity, accuracy of the FNA technique in the management of lymphadenopathy, to differentiate inflammatory from neoplastic conditions, staging of lymphomas, for the diagnosis of relapse of diseases and in diagnosing metastatic diseases.

This is a comparative study of the cytology and histology of 30 phyllodes tumours of the breast, accrued from the Tata Memorial Hospital records. The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of cytogenetic features when categorizing phyllodes tumours into various sub-types. A needle aspiration performed in all cases was followed by definitive surgery. The aspirates were scored for ceilularity, epithelial stromal ratio, presence of stromal fragments, stromal ceilularity andatypia, mitosis, vascularity and presence of miscellaneous cells. Cytologic evaluation was done without knowledge of the histologic sub-type. Histologically, 22 benign, 4 borderline, 2 malignant phyllodes and 2 stromal sarcomas were identified. A correct cytologic diagnosis was possible in 16 of 22 benign (73%), 1 of 4 borderline (25%), 2 of 2 malignant phyllodes (100%) and in 2 of 2 stromal sarcomas (100%). Stromal fragments were conspicuously present in all cases. Stromal ceilularity andatypia correlated with increasing grade of malignancy. Sentinel cells were present in benign phyllodes but were notably absent In all malignant phyllodes. Vascularity was conspicuously present in malignancy. In conclusion, cytology is reliable in differentiating frankly benign from overtly malignant phyllodes tumour. This information is of immense value in deciding the treatment. The transition between borderline phyllodes and low grade malignancy is difficult or at times impossible. It can be improved with multiple passes to ensure adequate sampling and due consideration to clinical data.

The object of the present study is to find out the observer perception variability in cytology reporting of bronchial brush (BB) smears from patients subjected to fiberoptic bronchoscopy with a mass lesion in the lung. Bronchial brush smears of 71 patients, clinically presenting as mass lesion in the lower respiratory tract were examined by five pathologists twice atan interval of six weeks; the experience of the pathologists ranged from three years to 25 years. The data collected from all the observers in both sets of observations was subjected to calculation of diagnostic indices and Kappa statistics. The diagnostic indices were calculated separately for each observer in two categories; indices for correct diagnosis of malignancy by brush cytology without including the suspicious group in "positive for malignant group" (2 category) and including suspicious cases in the "positive for malignant group" (3 category). Kappa statistics showed excellent agreement in first set of observations (values 0.54-0.74 in three category and 0.69-0.82 in two category diagnosis) and a constistent increase of above values in second set of observations after six weeks i.e. 0.64-0.84 and 0.82-0.91 respectively in three and two category diagnosis. Therefore Kappa statistics is excellent to study observer perception variability for nominal categories. However, it requires discrete application of Kappa in individual instances because it does not indicate the direction of agreement

Cytological screening for early detection of cervical carcinoma has been in progress at this centre since Aprii 1971, and until October 1998 cervical smears of a total of 19,651 women have been examined. Cytological evidence of Herpes simplex viral infection has been found in 87 cases (0.4%) and the infection was associated with malignancy in 34.4% (30cases). Cervical dysplasia was concomittantly observed in 22 cases - (25.1%). In the remaining 35 cases, marked inflammatory changes were seen. Pathological lesions on the cervix were present in 66.6% of the 87 cases while viral infection was associated with gynaecological symptoms in 44.8%. Viral infection showed progressive rise with increasing age, and was encountered maximum above 40 years of the age. The accumulated data revels strong association of Herpes simplex with cervical carcinogenesis.

Pure neuritic type of leprosy, variously documented as polyneuritic leprosy or primary neuritic leprosy is a well recognised clinical entity. It usually presents with signs and symptoms of nerve deficits without any skin lesion. In the absence of nerve biopsy and immunological test it is difficult to confirm the clinical diagnosis. We performed needle aspiration of enlarged nerve in 12 patients suspected of ha vingpure neural leprosy. In 10 cases smears showed chronic inflammatory cells. Multiple acid fast bacilli were found in 5 cases. Two cases showed acelluiar material and they were negative for AFB. FNAC of nerve can be a valuable diagnostic method in pure neuritic leprosy.

Purpose of the study: Study of the cytomorphologicai features of renal malignancies through review of fine needle aspirates of kidney. Basic procedures: May-Grünwald-Giemsa stained smears of fine needle aspirates from the space occupying lesions (SOL) of kidney obtained under ultrasound guidance in 61 cases were reviewed by one of the investigators (DKD). Main Findings: Of the 28 cases of malignancies detected 26 were primary lesions and 2 were metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. The primary malignancies included 21 renal cell carcinomas (RCC), 4 nephroblastomas and a case in which decision between RCC and adrenal carcinoma could not be resolved. The renal cell carcinomas included 8 clear cell, 7 granularcell, 5 spindle cell (sarcomatoid) and one pigmented cell variant. One of the renal cell carcinoma cases showed evidence of concomitant tuberculosis of kidney. Metastatic RCC was also diagnosed from FN A of skin nodules (2 cases) and SOL in liver (1 case). The nephroblastoma cases showed blastemal cells and tubular differentiation in ail the four cases, and glomerular tuft like structure and stromal materials in two cases each. Conclusion: US guided FNA cytology is a useful tool for diagnosis and classification of renal malignancies.

Primary FNAC diagnosis of chronic hyperuricemia presenting as multiple tophi in a young male patient is discussed. The combination of chalky white aspirate, presence of needle shaped crystals under light microscopy, and the high degree of birefringence under polarised light helped in diagnosis. Certain rare manifestations of this disease are also presented.

Nipple discharge in gynecomastia is an uncommon symptom. Serosanguinous nipple discharge is described in papilloma and breast carcinoma. We describe here a case of gynecomastia with serosanguinous nipple discharge with atypical cytomorphological features.

Malacoplakia is a rare disease generally considered to be a chronic inflammatory process. The feasibility of making a diagnosis of malacoplakia by FNAC has not been fully explored. In this case we present our experience with a rare case of gastrointestinal malacoplakia in which FNAC was not only Instrumental in making the diagnosis but also played a role in the management and follow up of the patient

A case of a mixed glioma namely oligoastrocytoma, diagnosed by crush smearcytology and later confirmed by histo-pathological examination is being reported due to its rarity. The importance of crush smears forthe rapid cytologicai diagnosis of intracranial tumors is being re emphasized.

Dermato fibrosarcoma Protuberans (DFSP) represents a group of mesenchymal spindle cell tumors that typically involve both dermis and subcutis. Diagnosis of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans by FN AC may be difficult. We report a case of a 38 year old male presenting with a recurrent mass in the thumb region diagnosed as dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans on FNAC and confirmed by histopathology.