Imprint cytology for detecting metastasis of lung cancer in mediastinal lymph nodes

Objective: We studied the effectiveness of cytological diagnosis for detecting metastasis of lung cancer in mediastinal lymph nodes. Methods: One hundred forty stations of mediastinal nodes in 50 patients with lung cancer were excised through mediastinoscopy. Each specimen was examined for metastasis with imprint cytology and hematoxylin-eosin stained histology. Sensitivity and accuracy were compared between cytological and histological examinations. Results: Cytological examination showed 22 positive stations in 14 patients, while histological examination showed 18 positive stations in 12 patients. All histological positive stations were positive cytologically and the final diagnosis was identical with cytological examination. The sensitivity and accuracy of cytological examination were 100% and 100%, while those of histological examination were 81.8% and 97.1%. Conclusion: Imprint cytology for detecting metastasis in mediastinal lymph nodes showed high sensitivity and accuracy, and was no less effective than histological examination.