Fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsies were performed in a series of patients with uveal tumors. Cytopathologic examination established the correct diagnosis in 26 of 29 uveal melanomas. FNA biopsy was able to exclude the diagnosis of a malignant neoplasm in five nonmelanoma tumefactions. Histologic and FNA cytologic typing of melanomas as epithelioid or predominantly spindle cell showed good agreement, with the same classifications made in 14 of 18 cases. FNA biopsy specimens also proved to be adequate for DNA-content and cell-cycling studies. The cessation of cell cycling in successfully irradiated melanomas may be useful in establishing the postradiation status of tumors that have questionable growths after therapy, as was shown using FNA samples in three such cases in this study. The results of this study show that FNA biopsy is a useful diagnostic adjunct in patients with atypical lesions that require therapy.

Biopsy, Needle↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cerebrospinal fluid cytology in five patients with cerebral cysticercosis.

Cerebral cysticercosis from Taenia solium infection is a common disease in Central American countries but an infrequent one in the United States. We report distinctive cellular findings in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and attendant clinical features in five patients from Central America. The patients' histories showed variable previous parasitic infestations; their neurologic symptoms and signs usually were nonfocal. Routine examination of CSF of the five patients revealed elevated leukocyte counts, but eosinophilia was found in only two. Three of the CSFs showed marked pleocytosis, high variability and atypia, indicating possible lymphoma of the central nervous system. No hooklets or other structures associated with parasitic invasion were identified. The clinical findings, together with the cellular pleomorphism in CSF, generally suggested an inflammatory lesion rather than lymphoma. In cerebral cysticercosis, confirmation of diagnosis requires proof of the etiologic agent.

Adult↗