Adenosquamous differentiation: mammary needle aspiration cytology.
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Adenocarcinoma↗
Biomedical subjects
K S McCarty
Publications and source records attributed to K S McCarty.
The correlation of cytologic grade and steroid receptor content in effusions of metastatic breast carcinoma.
The synthesis of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) proteins by mammary carcinoma cells is a manifestation of biochemical differentiation. This study was an attempt to determine whether this acquisition of functional differentiation correlates with cytologic differentiation. Malignant effusions from 30 patients with mammary carcinoma were studied. ER and PR were measured by sucrose density gradient analysis. Membrane filters of the effusions were prepared, and a cytologic grade was assigned based primarily on nuclear size and nucleolar prominence. Ten cases were classified as well differentiated, 15 as moderately differentiated and 5 as poorly differentiated. Four of the ten well-differentiated neoplasms contained greater than 7 fm/mg protein ER and PR. Six of the 15 moderately differentiated neoplasms contained significant levels of ER and PR. None of the five poorly differentiated neoplasms contained significant receptor. This study strongly suggests that there is a correlation between the cytologic grade and steroid receptor content in metastatic mammary carcinoma. In a prospective analysis of thin needle aspirations of breast cancers now underway, the nature of this relationship is being further defined.
Breast Neoplasms↗
Correlation of mean nuclear area with estrogen receptor content in aspiration cytology of breast carcinoma.
Thin needle aspirates of 42 consecutive breast carcinomas were obtained at the time of excisional biopsy. Nuclear diameters of 100 cells from each case were measured, and the nuclear areas were calculated. The concomitantly acquired histologic sections were reviewed and assigned a histologic grade according to the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast Project protocol no. 4. Estrogen receptor (ER) content was analyzed by both the DCCA and SDGA techniques. The ER content of each case was then compared to both the mean nuclear area of the cells on the cytologic smears and the histologic grade. All 16 cases with mean nuclear areas of less than 60 sq micrometer contained significant levels of ER (greater than 10 fmol/mg protein), as did 6 of 11 cases with nuclei between 60 and 90 sq micrometer. Only 5 of 15 cases with nuclei larger than 90 sq micrometer contained significant ER levels. Comparison of the sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of both techniques suggests that a quantitative assessment of nuclear area in cytologic thin needle aspirates correlates more closely with ER content than does histologic grading.
Biopsy, Needle↗