Role of cell block in cytopathologic evaluation of image-guided fine needle aspiration cytology.

CONTEXT: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of superficial or deep-seated lesion is an increasingly common practice, eliminating time consuming and costly diagnostic procedures and providing rapid and safe diagnosis.

AIMS: To assess utility of cell block preparation method in increasing sensitivity of cytodiagnosis in deep-seated image-guided FNACs.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a hospital-based observational study conducted in the Department of Pathology, over a period of one and a half years.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 46 cases of abdomino-pelvic and intrathoracic masses subjected to guided FNACs were included. Along with conventional smears, cell blocks were prepared by using AAF (95% Ethanol 34 ml + formalin 4 ml + Glacial acetic acid 2 ml) as fixative agent.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Done using MedCalc Version 12.7.5.0 to find out the sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of conventional smears and cell blocks.

RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of cell blocks in our study was 71.11%, 100%, and 71.73%, respectively. The figures for FNA smears were 62.22%, 100%, and 63.04%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: Cell block technique by AAF fixative is a simple, inexpensive procedure. Cell block method allows the recovery and processing of minute amounts of cellular material, facilitating better classification of tumor when reviewed along with cytological smears, the ability to obtain many sections for immunostains and other studies to be performed akin to paraffin sections produced in histopathology.