Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy of Palpable Breast Masses: Patterns of Clinical Use and Patient Experience.

BACKGROUND: Timeliness is an important and recognized measure of health care quality. Multiple health organizations worldwide have published timeliness targets for breast cancer care. We performed the first comparison of patient wait times and utilization patterns for palpable breast mass diagnosis and treatment with regard to biopsy method. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Palpable breast masses in women biopsied via a fine-needle aspiration (FNA) or core biopsy at 2 affiliated academic medical centers in 2009 were analyzed if subsequently treated with excision or neoadjuvant therapy. Patient demographics, mass size and radiologic features, pathology diagnoses, and wait times to diagnosis and treatment were recorded. RESULTS: Patients diagnosed by FNA biopsy received their biopsy diagnosis more than 8 days sooner than those diagnosed by core biopsy. Most FNA biopsies occurred the same day the patient clinically presented. Time to treatment did not differ significantly between groups. Both biopsy methods demonstrated comparable diagnostic accuracy. Breast masses diagnosed by FNA biopsy had Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) scores ranging from 1 through 5, whereas nearly all core biopsy cases had a BI-RADS score of 4 or greater. All patient groups were demographically comparable and presented with similar breast mass sizes. CONCLUSIONS: Wait times for breast biopsies were significantly shorter for patients diagnosed by FNA compared with core biopsy. FNA biopsy was often used to evaluate breast masses of low clinical suspicion. In light of health care goals for practice improvement and cost containment, breast FNA biopsy may be an underused resource.

Cytological analysis of small branch-duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms provides a more accurate risk assessment of malignancy than symptoms.

OBJECTIVES: The Sendai guidelines for management of patients with clinically suspected intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) recommend resection of cysts > 30 mm, a dilated main pancreatic duct (MPD) > 6 mm, a mural nodule (MN), symptoms or positive cytology. Although sensitive, asymptomatic cysts, nonspecific symptoms, and a high threshold for positive cytology limit the specificity of the guidelines. We have assessed the value of cytology relative to symptom for predicting malignancy in IPMNs without high-risk imaging features. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical, radiological, and cytological data of 31 small branch-duct IPMNs without a MN. The cytological presence of high-grade atypical epithelial cells (HGA) was considered true positive, with a corresponding histology of high-grade dysplasia or invasive carcinoma. The performance of cytology versus symptoms was evaluated by calculating the sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), positive predictive value (PPV), and accuracy. RESULTS: The sensitivity (0.80), specificity (0.85), and accuracy (0.84) of HGA were higher than the corresponding performance characteristics of symptoms (0.60, 0.45, and 0.48, respectively). The NPV of no HGA on cytology was > 95%. CONCLUSIONS: Cytology is a better predictor of malignancy than symptoms, for the conservative management of small branch-duct IPMNs. Cytology contributes to a highly accurate triple negative test for malignancy in small IPMN: No dilated MPD, MN or HGA.

A superior method for cell block preparation for fine-needle aspiration biopsies.

BACKGROUND: Cell block (CB) techniques for fine-needle aspiration biopsies (FNABs) vary. A direct comparison of CB techniques with statistical validation was performed to identify the best method. METHODS: Three CB techniques were compared: 1) FNAB rinsed in saline and clotted with plasma and thrombin (SPT); 2) FNAB rinsed in formalin and clotted with HistoGel (HG); and 3) FNAB rinsed in formalin, centrifuged, and the pellet captured in a collodion bag (ColB). FNAB was performed on 35 random surgical specimens for smears and each CB technique. A randomized blinded review of hematoxylin and eosin-stained CB slides was performed and each case was scored on a scale of 1 to 3 for cellularity, preservation, and architecture and the overall best CB was identified. Significance was determined by the Mann-Whitney U test for nonparametric ordinal data. RESULTS: The mean cellularity score was 1.71 for SPT (standard deviation [SD], 0.89), 1.68 for HG (SD, 0.67), and 3.0 for ColB (SD, 0). The mean preservation score was 1.31 for SPT (SD, 0.58), 1.54 for HG (SD, 0.70), and 2.91 for ColB (SD, 0.37). The mean architecture score was 1.45 for SPT (SD, 0.70), 1.43 for HG (SD, 0.60), and 2.71 for ColB (SD, 0.57). There was no statistical significance noted between SPT or HG when compared for each category. ColB was found to be superior to both SPT and HG when compared for each category (P<.05). The overall best CB was obtained with ColB in 33 of 35 cases (94%), with SPT proving superior in 1 of 35 cases (3%) and HG superior in 1 of 35 cases (3%). CONCLUSIONS: ColB appears to be a superior technique for CB, yielding greater cellularity, preservation, and architecture in the majority of cases. Cancer Cytopathol 2016;124:508-18. © 2016 American Cancer Society.

Unusual botfly skin infestation.

Myiasis, the infestation of humans and animals with fly larvae, is observed in tropical, lowland areas. Dermatobia hominis is a common cause of cutaneous human infestation in these areas. Patients often present with a furuncular lesion on the extremities, back, or scalp. We report a case of furuncular myiasis in a patient returning from a trip to South America. We will discuss the life-cycle of D. hominis and the clinical findings important in the diagnosis of myiasis.

Complete pulmonary venous occlusion after radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation.

Pulmonary vein stenosis is a known, yet under-recognized complication of radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation. We present the case of a patient developing complete left-sided pulmonary venous occlusion following radiofrequency ablation. Recommendations are made to allow earlier diagnosis of this complication.

Effect of extended-release niacin on hormone-sensitive lipase and lipoprotein lipase in patients with HIV-associated lipodystrophy syndrome.

BACKGROUND: HIV-associated lipodystrophy syndrome is strongly associated with antiretroviral treatment in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Niacin is thought to affect hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) expression in peripheral and intra-abdominal fat (IAF). OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of extended-release niacin (ERN) on adipose HSL and LPL expression in patients with HIV-associated lipodystrophy syndrome. METHODS: Changes in IAF and peripheral fat content and HSL and LPL expression were examined in 4 HIV-infected patients recruited from a prospective study treated with ERN. Patients underwent limited 8 slice computerized tomography abdominal scans, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans, and skin punch biopsies of the mid-thigh at baseline and after 12 weeks of ERN. All subjects were on stable highly active antiretroviral therapy prior to and during the study. Changes in body habitus were self-reported. RESULTS: Normalized HSL expression decreased in 3 patients and normalized LPL expression increased in all 4 patients when comparing pre- and post-ERN treated samples. All subjects showed a decrease in total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary analysis suggests ERN may induce changes in HSL and LPL expression. This method is a feasible approach to identify changes in adipose RNA expression involved with lipolysis.