Use of fine‐needle aspiration biopsy in the evaluation of splenic lesions in a cancer center

• Published in: Diagnostic cytopathology 1997-04, Vol.16 (4), p.312-316
• Main Authors: Caraway, Nancy P., Fanning, Christina V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Biopsy, Needle - adverse effects; Female; fine‐needle aspiration; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; metastasis; Middle Aged; Predictive Value of Tests; spleen; Spleen - pathology; Splenic Neoplasms - pathology; Splenic Neoplasms - secondary
• ISSN: 8755-1039; 1097-0339
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0339(199704)16:4<312::AID-DC2>3.0.CO;2-F

Fine‐needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of the spleen was performed on 50 patients, of whom 40 had had a previous diagnosis of malignancy (23 lymphoproliferative disorders, 13 carcinomas, 3 melanomas, and 1 sarcoma). The cytologic diagnoses included 22 cases positive for malignancy (10 lymphomas, 9 metastatic carcinomas, 2 metastatic melanomas, and 1 sarcoma), 18 cases negative for malignancy, 4 cases suspicious for malignancy, and 6 nondiagnostic specimens. No major complications were associated with the FNAB procedure; however, one patient did develop a pneumothorax that resolved spontaneously. Subsequent splenectomy was performed in 10 of the 50 cases. There were no false‐positive diagnoses, and only one false‐negative diagnosis, which was attributed to sampling error. The aspirate, showing only benign splenic parenchyma, was from a patient with splenomegaly and no previous diagnosis; subsequent splenectomy showed acute myelogenous leukemia. In our study, FNAB proved to be a safe and valuable diagnostic tool for evaluating splenic lesions in oncologic patients. Diagn. Cytopathol. 16:312–316, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.