Localization of Double Roentgenographically Occult Lung Cancers from the Analysis of Cytological Findings:

Discrimination of Cross-contaminated Cancer Cells

Abstract

When bronchoscopy combined with brushing cytology is used for the diagnosis of double roentgenographically occult lung cancers, it is important to ascertain whether the cancer cells in the cytological specimens originated from the bronchus examined or inadvertently from another unidentified bronchus. This problem was studied by cytological analysis of five patients with synchronous double roentgenographically occult lung cancers.
As a result of the examination, it was evident that: 1) Cancer cells with Orange-G stained cytoplasm which appeared in a single cell sporadically should be considered to have originated from another carcinoma. 2) Cancer cells with Orange-G stained cytoplasm which appeared in a cluster or characterized by degeneration should be considered to have originated from an unknown location. To determine the origin of such cells, we must compare the specimens with those obtained from another bronchus. 3) Clusters of cancer cells without degeneration and with Light-Green stained cytoplasm should be considered to have originated from the bronchus examined.