Rapid staining and immediate interpretation of fine-needle aspiration cytology for palpable breast lesions: diagnostic accuracy, mammographic, ultrasonographic and histopathologic correlations.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the role and turn around time of rapid staining and immediate interpretation of fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) for women with palpable breast lesions. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 408 FNAC specimens from 400 patients with palpable breast lesions was analyzed for immediate interpretation and preliminary cytologic diagnosis. All cytological diagnoses were correlated with subsequent alcohol-fixed Papanicolaou-stained slides, mammographic, ultrasonographic and histopathological findings. RESULTS: Of the 408 specimens, 243 (59.6%) were interpreted as benign, 37 (9.0%) atypical, 22 (5.4%) suspicious, 68 (16.7%) malignant, and 38 (9.3%) unsatisfactory. 132 of 408 (32.4%) had subsequent surgical procedures; the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 88.5, 100, 100, 81.9 and 92.4%, respectively. The average turn around time was 8.6 min. Mammographic results were available in 242 (59.3%) cases, with 112 (46.3%) undergoing surgical excision. In correlation with mammography and surgical pathology, the false-positive rate, false-negative rate, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 1.9, 10.5, 98.1, 89.5 and 95.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Rapid FNAC interpretation is a useful, effective diagnostic method for palpable breast lesions in our healthcare environment.

Transgenic tomato plants expressing the Arabidopsis NPR1 gene display enhanced resistance to a spectrum of fungal and bacterial diseases.

Development of effective disease-resistance to a broad-range of pathogens in crops usually requires tremendous resources and effort when traditional breeding approaches are taken. Genetic engineering of disease-resistance in crops has become popular and valuable in terms of cost and efficacy. Due to long-lasting and broad-spectrum of effectiveness against pathogens, employment of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) for the genetic engineering of crop disease-resistance is of particular interest. In this report, we explored the potential of using SAR-related genes for the genetic engineering of enhanced resistance to multiple diseases in tomato. The Arabidopsis NPR1 (nonexpresser of PR genes) gene was introduced into a tomato cultivar, which possesses heat-tolerance and resistance to tomato mosaic virus (ToMV). The transgenic lines expressing NPR1 were normal as regards overall morphology and horticultural traits for at least four generations. Disease screens against eight important tropical diseases revealed that, in addition to the innate ToMV-resistance, the tested transgenic lines conferred significant level of enhanced resistance to bacterial wilt (BW) and Fusarium wilt (FW), and moderate degree of enhanced resistance to gray leaf spot (GLS) and bacterial spot (BS). Transgenic lines that accumulated higher levels of NPR1 proteins exhibited higher levels and a broader spectrum of enhanced resistance to the diseases, and enhanced disease-resistance was stably inherited. The spectrum and degree of these NPR1-transgenic lines are more significant compared to that of transgenic tomatoes reported to date. These transgenic lines may be further explored as future tomato stocks, aiming at building up resistance to a broader spectrum of diseases.