Diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma by fine needle aspiration cytology. Cellular features
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 20, 2026
Mass Cytometry Analysis of Systemic and Local Immune Responses in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Published on: April 25, 2025
Işin Soyuer1, Cemil Ekinci, Muhsin Kaya
1Department of Clinical Cytopathology, Ankara University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey. isinsoy@erciyes.edu
Objective:
To evaluate the importance of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Study Design:
We analyzed 17 cytologic and 5 architectural features in a series of 320 FNACs from HCC and compared them with 73 FNACs from benign lesions and with 705 FNACs from metastatic carcinomas. One thousand ninety-eight patients who were diagnosed by liver FNAC between December 1988 and July 1998 and had adequate follow-up were included in the study. The specimens were evaluated according to the presence or absence of the cytologic features and cellular arrangement. A stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed on the data to determine the variables predictive of HCC.
Results:
Multinucleated tumor giant cells, cytoplasmic hyaline and central sinusoidal pattern were selected as the 3 most predictive parameters for differentiated reactive hepatocytes from HCC (P < .0001), while bile, centrally located nucleus in an atypical cell and intranuclear inclusion were selected as the 3 most predictive parameters for differentiated metastatic carcinoma from HCC (P < .0001-< .001) by stepwise logistic regression analysis.
Conclusion:
In the 1,098 patients suspected of having hepatic malignancy, a correct diagnosis was made by a combination of the above features. The sensitivity of this procedure for hepatic malignancy was 99.5%, and the specificity was 100%.
