[Diagnostic problems in gastric dysplasias: value of cytology (author's transl)]

Gastric smears have been performed on 835 patients, among which examinations 771 (92 percent) were available. Histology assumed in parallel showed a dysplasia lesion in 56 cases: 14 of the 601 negative smears (2.3 percent), in 33 of the 40 suspect smears (82 percent), and in 9 of the 130 cases of positive smears (7 percent). Gastric dysplasia evidence both by cytology and pathology show mostly differenciated cells, alterations of which reflect the lesion level. By contrast, cytology and histology diagnosis are not in agreement when dysplasia concern dedifferenciated cells with a severe degree of alterations which can be misinterpreted as malignant cells.