Abstract
Objective : Cytological examination of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is useful for the diagnosis of a variety of diseases of the central nervous system, especially detection of leptomeningeal tumor metastasis. In this report, we analyzed the clinicocytological features of patients with a positive CSF cytology at our hospital.
Study Design : We reviewed the clinicocytological features of 76 specimens obtained from 46 patients over a period of 5 years. Specimens from pediatric patients (≦19 years) and adult patients (≧20 years) were separately analyzed.
Results : In the pediatric group (12 cases), central nervous system tumors (9 cases) such as medulloblastoma, anaplastic ependymoma, primitive neuroectodermal tumor and germinoma, were the most common, followed by acute leukemia. In the adult group (34 cases), the most common tumor type was carcinoma (44%), followed by acute leukemia and malignant lymphoma ; adenocarcinoma was the most common type of carcinoma (87%). The most common primary tumor site origin of carcinoma was the lung (80%).
Conclusion : Cytodiagnosis of CSF can be difficult, as neoplastic cells from a variety of organs can be found and the tumor cells sometimes show marked degeneration. The present study demonstrated differences in the distribution of the common tumor types between adult and pediatric patient groups. Therefore, a combination of detailed observation of the cytological features and clinical information is essential for leads to the correct diagnosis in patients undergoing CSF fluid cytology.
