Intraoperative imprint cytology for the detection of sentinel lymph node metastases in breast cancer

Abstract

Objective : The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of intraoperative imprint cytology for the detection of sentinel node metastases in breast cancer patients.
Study Design : Sentinel node biopsy was performed in 426 patients with early breast cancer with clinically negative nodes using a combination of dye and radioisotope. Intraoperative diagnosis of sentinel node metastases by imprint cytology stained by Papanicolaou stain was compared with the final histopathological results of permanent sections stained by hematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemistry.
Results : The sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy of intraoperative imprint cytology were 85.4%, 97.0% and 94.6%, respectively, on a patient basis. Imprint cytology could identify sentinel node micrometastases in 30 out of the 42 patients (71.4%).
Conclusion : Intraoperative imprint cytology is a useful method for identifying sentinel node metastases in breast cancer patients.