Abstract
Objective : We evaluated the accuracy and usefulness of intraoperative imprint smears stained with Diff-Quik for sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) in breast cancer and the difference in the metastatic rate influenced by tumor size and histological type.
Study Design : Intraoperative imprint cytology of SLN was conducted in 225 patients with breast cancer. SLNs were bisected (125 cases) or multisected (90 cases) and stained with Diff-Quik after cut surfaces were imprinted. We compared the cytodiagnoses of multisected and bisected samples to histological diagnoses.
Results : Specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy in multisected samples were 100%, while in bisected cases, specificity was 92.3%, sensitivity 78.9%, and accuracy 94.1%. No definite relationship was seen between metastatic rate, tumor size, and histological type, but the metastatic rate of invasive lobular carcinoma and micropapillary carcinoma was high, even in small lesions.
Conclusion : Multisected and Diff-Quik-stained imprint smears for intraoperative cytodiagnosis of SLN in breast cancer is fast, cheap, and useful.
