The current role of exfoliative cytopathology in the routine diagnosis of bronchogenic carcinoma. A five-year study of 152 consecutive, unselected cases.

Although the sensitivity of exfoliative cytopathology in the diagnosis of bronchogenic carcinoma has been reported to be as low as 44 per cent,' most cytologists find malignant cells in the sputum or bronchial aspirates from three of every four patients with lung cancer, more or less.24 Most reports contain selected series of cases, since patients who have not had cytologic examinations usually are excluded; likewise patients in whom the quantity or quality of the smears is not adequate also may be omitted. Thus it is difficult to ascertain the full role of exfoliative cytodiagnosis of carcinoma of the lung in routine hospital practice. The purpose of this study was to determine this role by a retrospective analysis.