Role of sputum cytology in lung cancer

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Chest department, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt

2 Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Background: In individuals with lung cancer, sputum is a readily available lung material that contains exfoliated bronchial epithelial cells and several leukocyte kinds, including premalignant and malignant cells. Screening of lung cancer can be of great help in early detection as it can increase survival rate and reduce mortality. Aims: To assess the role of cytological examination of sputum in the diagnosis of individuals with suspected lung cancer. Methods: A cross-sectional study was held at Chest Department, Minia cardiothoracic university hospital in association with the Department of Pathology. Seventy-three patients were included in our study with suspected lung cancer. These patients underwent either bronchoscopy or CT-guided biopsy for histopathologic examination. Samples were collected, and the 'pick and smear' technique is used for sputum preparation. Results: the study was conducted on 73 patients, 46 cases proved to be malignant by biopsy either Bronchoscopic or CT-guided biopsy. The overall sensitivity of sputum samples was 58.8% in the detection of lung cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma was present in 6 cases (17 %) in cases diagnosed by sputum cytology. Adenocarcinoma represented 8 cases (23 %) of cases. Sputum cytology detected malignancy in most cases (91.7%) having tumor size ≥ 2 cm. Conclusion: The diagnostic yield of sputum cytology for the detection of lung cancer increased with lesion greater than 2 cm, and the overall sensitivity of our sputum samples was 58.8% in this regard.

Keywords: sputum cytology, lung cancer, bronchoscopy.

 

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