Comparison of smear cytology with histopathology in the ultrasonography-or computed tomography-guided biopsy of lung neoplasms

The significance of smear cytology of ultrasonography (US) or computed tomography (CT) guided core needle biopsy tissues have never been referred to. In this study, the first comparison between cytology and the corresponding histopathology was made to clarify the role of additional smear cytology in the diagnosis of lung lesions. This was a retrospective analysis of sixty-nine consecutive patients of clinically diagnosed lung neoplasm who received the examinations of smear cytology and histopathology in the same biopsy tissue guided by US or CT between April 2014 and June 2015. The overall consistent rate for smear cytology and histopathology results was 69.57% (48/69). The diagnosis rate of lung cancer was 53.62% (37/69) for smear cytology and 66.67% (46/69) for the corresponding histopathology (P = 0.118). Although 9 (13.04%) more cases were diagnosed as lung cancer by histopathology, 4 cases (5.80%) were diagnosed as lung cancer by smear cytology, not by histopathology. Smear cytology and histopathology shared the same pathological classification rate (89.19%) in patients with malignancy. The consistent rate of lung cancer subtypes for smear cytology and histopathology was 56.76% (21/37). Smear cytology of US or CT guided core needle biopsy tissue is a simple and cost effective diagnosis method, which shows a quick diagnosis and a good correlation with histopathology on lung cancer, and also enhances accuracy of histopathology. It is recommended as a routine cytology examination in case of core needle biopsy in lung tumor.