Thin Prep Versus Traditional Cytological Procedure for Lung Cancer

Overview

In the diagnosis of lung cancer, the cytological sample obtained during Bronchoscopy (FBS), has an increasingly important role in the characterization of malignancy. The cytological sample can be harvested during bronchoscopy by bronchial brushing, bronchial lavages or fine needle aspiration. Immunocytochemical staining allows not only to discriminate between small cell lung cancer versus non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but also to identify the expression of specific markers such as TTF-1, CK7, CK20, 4A4, 34βE12 and p63. Thin Prep is a technique for cytological assay already validated and largely used in the immunocytochemical determination of gynaecologic specimens. Further Studies are required to asses the accuracy of this technique compared to conventional smear in cytological airway samples obtained by fine needle aspiration.

Patients undergoing FBS for lung cancer diagnosis purpose will be enrolled in the study. During FBS Fine Need Aspiration (FNA) will be performed. Four samplings by FNA will be performed in each patient. Two samplings will be processed with thin prep technique and two samplings with the traditional procedure. To avoid sampling procedures-related bias, the first harvested sample will be randomly tested with Thin Prep or Traditional technique.

Conditions

Eligibility