engleski

The role of cell block cytology in the diagnosis of malignant pleural effusions

Introduction: The cytological examination of pleural effusions has been well-established method. It helps in staging, prognosis and management of patients with malignancies. Therefore cell blocks prepared from pleural effusions can be used as adjuncts for establishing a more precise cytopathological diagnosis. The aim of this study was to asess the utility of the cell block method in the cytological diagnosis of malignant pleural effusions. Methods: The cell block obtained from pleural effusion were done using Agar method. The pleural effusion is centrifuged for 5 minutes at 3000 RPM. After decanting, 2 ml of 10% formalin is added to the sediment and the material kept for 4-24 hours at room temperature for fixation. The material is afterward centrifuged for 5 minutes at 3000 RPM in order to separate formalin and agar gel is added to the sediment. Preparing of agar gel consists in boiling of 0.9% saline which is added to bacteriological powder, mixed to make crystals disappear and cooled to 450C. Mixing the material with a glass stick makes cells bind to the gel. The cell block obtained is stored at 40C and ready for further processing as histological material suitable for immunohistochemical and molecular analysis. Results: In this study among a total of 85 malignant pleural effusion 56 were further processed to cell blocks. In 43 cases a definitive diagnosis could be achieved by cell block cytology using immunohistochemistry. Ancillary molecular testing for prognostic parameters were performed on cell blocks in 11 cases. Conclusion: The preparation of cell blocks from pleural effusion has confirmed to be a simple safe and cost-effective procedure that can improve cytological diagnosis and increase the usage of the material for further analysis.

pleural effusion ; cytology ; cell block

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