Burkitt's lymphoma: maximising the use of fine needle aspirates by long-term preservation for diagnosis and research

Fine needle aspirates from Burkitt's lymphoma and other tumours transferred directly into ThinPrep® PreservCyt® (Cytyc UK Ltd, Crawley, UK) buffered alcohol fixative retain their cellular and viral antigens and nucleic acids for many months at ambient temperatures. Despite the presence of blood and debris, cells dried onto slides from droplets and post-fixed in formalin, or sections of paraffin-embedded cell blocks from formalin post-fixed pellets, prove adequate for morphology, immunocytochemistry, in-situ hybridization and molecular biological analyses. Where there is lack of expertise in making thin smears or hospitals lack pathology laboratories and services, PreservCyt® provides an excellent medium for transport elsewhere for diagnosis and research.