[Lung neoplasms. Cytological diagnosis based on puncture biopsy specimens]

Twelve-year experience gained in cytological diagnosis of lung tumors by examining puncture biopsy specimens in 2536 patients is analyzed. The results indicate that before cytological verification of the diagnosis, patients with squamous-cell and glandular lung cancers were examined at various institutions for up to 6 months and patients with nondifferentiated cancer for up to 3 months, the majority (57%) patients being of socially active age (45-60 years). In 1793 (70.7%) patients the cytological method was the only possibility of morphological interpretation of the pathological process in the lung before treatment. Analysis of informative puncture biopsy specimens helped identify the process in 2238 (92.4%) patients. Cyto-histological correlations showed high diagnostic sensitivity (98.7%), efficiency (97.3%), and specificity (86.0%) of examining puncture biopsy specimens by the cytological method.