Image-guided Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology of Intrathoracic Lesions

Percutaneous, image-guided transthoracic fine needle aspiration cytology (TTFNAC) is a rapid, yet accurate, and well-established diagnostic method used in the cytological evaluation of intrathoracic lesions. The study was done to determine the utility of image-guided TTFNAC in diagnosis of intrathoracic lesions.

A retrospective analysis of all cases who underwent image-guided TTFNAC of a suspected intrathoracic lesion, in a tertiary care hospital was done over a period of 3 years.

During the study period, 124 cases of image-guided FNAC of intrathoracic lesions were obtained. The mean age at presentation was 60.5 years with M:F: 3.6:1. Neoplastic lesions (71.5%) outnumbered the nonneoplastic lesions (28.5%). The most common tumor was adenocarcinoma (25%) followed by squamous cell carcinoma (SCC, 11%), and small cell carcinoma (5%). There was one case each of anaplastic carcinoma, plasmacytoma, bronchoalveolar carcinoma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Most of the lesions were found on the right side and upper lobe. Among the mediastinal lesions, we found two cases of thymoma and one case each of NHL)/primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET), NHL, and small cell carcinoma metastasis to lymph node followed by ten cases of inflammatory lesions and seven cases of tuberculosis (TB).

Image-guided TTFNAC of intrathoracic lesions is a safe method when done by well-trained medical personnel with lesser rate of complications. An early accurate diagnosis of malignancy can be made based on the cytological features; however, further subtyping of the malignancy may sometimes be difficult due to overlapping cytological features. TTFNAC can be a diagnostic tool for identifying nonneoplastic lesion such as TB. Hence, image-guided FNAC aids in early diagnosis and management of patients with intrathoracic lesions.