Diagnosis of B-cell non-hodgkin lymphomas with small-/intermediate-sized cells in cytopathology.

Diagnosis of B-cell non-hodgkin lymphomas with small-/intermediate-sized cells in cytopathology. Patholog Res Int. 2012;2012:164934 Authors: Schwock J, Geddie WR Abstract Fine needle sampling is a fast, safe, and potentially cost-effective method of obtaining tissue for cytomorphologic assessment aimed at both initial triage and, in some cases, complete diagnosis of patients that present clinically with lymphadenopathy. The cytologic diagnosis of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas composed of small-/intermediate-sized cells, however, has been seen as an area of great difficulty even for experienced observers due to the morphologic overlap between lymphoma and reactive lymphadenopathies as well as between the lymphoma entities themselves. Although ancillary testing has improved diagnostic accuracy, the results from these tests must be interpreted within the morphological and clinical context to avoid misinterpretation. Importantly, the recognition of specific cytologic features is crucial in guiding the appropriate selection of ancillary tests which will either confirm or refute a tentative diagnosis. For these reasons, we here review the cytologic characteristics particular to five common B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas which typically cause the most diagnostic confusion based on cytological assessment alone: marginal zone lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma, and lymphop...
Source: Pathology Research International - Category: Pathology Tags: Patholog Res Int Source Type: research