The International Academy of Cytology Yokohama System for Reporting Breast Cytopathology showed improved diagnostic accuracy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the International Academy of Cytology Yokohama System for Reporting Breast Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy Cytopathology is to improve cytology practice. This study assessed cytologic diagnoses made with the system and its efficacy when it was applied by pathologists with different levels of experience. METHODS: In all, 1080 cases of breast fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) over a period of 16 years were reviewed and reclassified with the system. The category distribution and the diagnostic performance were compared with the original diagnoses. The concordance rates for diagnoses from pathologists with different levels of experience were also determined. RESULTS: The distribution of cytologic diagnoses made with the system was as follows: 11.7% were insufficient, 56.6% were benign, 20.1% were atypical, 6.1% were suspicious for malignancy, and 5.6% were malignant. The rates for the insufficient and atypical categories were lower than the original diagnosis rates (13.1% and 23.8%, respectively). Overall, 120 cases (11.1%) were recategorized. Among those recategorized as benign, suspicious, or malignant with follow-up data, 96.7% were correctly reclassified. A significant improvement in diagnostic performance was found with the system (P < .001). Such improvement was also seen in problematic breast lesions, including fibroepithelial lesions, papillary lesions, and low-grade carcinomas. Pathologists with intermediate experience showed a higher concordance with an expert pathologist in the diagnoses than those with short experience (κ, 0.838 vs 0.634). CONCLUSIONS: The system effectively categorized the diagnoses, and the diagnostic performance of FNAB reporting was improved. The structured reporting also enhanced the reproducibility of reporting by pathologists with intermediate experience and, to some extent, those with short experience.

Axillary Nodal Metastasis with Papillary Morphology: An Uncommon Origin.

BACKGROUND: Metastases to axillary lymph nodes are commonly and readily confirmed by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Most likely, these arise from breast primaries. However, the diagnosis can become complicated when unusual cytomorphology is encountered. CASE: We report a 60-year-old woman presenting with bilateral axillary lymphadenopathies but without breast lesions. History showed increasing CA-125 levels. FNAC yielded carcinoma cells showing prominent papillary pattern, being composed of mild to moderately differentiated malignant cells, with focal abortive glandular formation and squamous metaplasia. IHC stains were done and the tumor cells were PAX-8 positive, but GATA-3 and GCDFP-15 negative. Coupled with the clinical history, a diagnosis of metastatic endometrioid adenocarcinoma was made. CONCLUSION: Nodal metastases with papillary cytomorphology can rarely arise from nonbreast primaries. The presence of papillary pattern, particularly in the absence of a clinically detectable breast lesion, should raise the possibility of a metastasis. Correlation with patient history, imaging findings and judicious use of IHC studies are crucial for a correct diagnosis.

Co-expression of HLA-I loci improved prognostication in HER2+ breast cancers.

The underlying basis for cancer immune evasion is important for effective immunotherapy and prognosis in breast cancers. Human leucocyte antigens (HLA)-I comprising three classical antigens (HLA-A, -B and -C) is mandatory for anti-tumor immunity. Its loss occurred frequently in many cancers resulting in effective immune evasion. Most studies examined HLA-I as a whole. Alterations in specific locus could have different clinical ramifications. Hence, we evaluated the expression of the three HLA-I loci in a large cohort of breast cancers. Low expression of HLA-A, -B and -C were found in 71.1%, 66.3%, and 60.2% of the cases. Low and high expression in all loci was found in 48.3% and 17.9% of the cases respectively. The remaining showed high expression in one or two loci. Cases with all HLA high expression (all HLA high) was frequent in the ER-HER2- (27.4%) and ER-HER2+ (23.1%) cases and was associated with characteristic pathologic features related to these tumor (higher grade, necrosis, high tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL), pT stage, low hormonal receptor, high basal marker expression) (p ≤ 0.019). Interestingly, in HER2+ cancers, only cases with all HLA high and high TIL showed significantly better survival. In node positive cancers, concordant high HLA expression in primary tumors and nodal metastases was favorable prognostically (DFS: HR = 0.741, p < 0.001; BCSS: HR = 0.699, p = 0.003). The data suggested an important clinical value of a combined analysis on the co-expression HLA-I status in both primary and metastatic tumors. This could be a potential additional key component to be incorporated into TIL evaluation for improved prognostication.