Abstract

The cyto-histologic correlation and cytologic accuracy are reported in thirty cases of consecutive aspirated cells and their biopsied tissues of patients with clinical and neuroradiologic evidences of central nervous system tumors and other lesions investigated at the Pathology and Neurosurgery Department, Korea University Hospital, from Apr. 1987 to Apr. 1988. The series comprised of 17 benign and 12 malignant histopathologically verified brain neoplasms and 1 infectious lesion. In 78% of the cases, the cytologic diagnosis was concordant with the histologic diagnosis provided adequate sample was obtained. In 17 benign tumors, the diagnostic rate was 87% ; the diagnostic accuracy for 12 malignant CNS tumors was 63% cytologically. In almost all cases, differentiation of non-neoplastic lesion from neoplastic one and that of benign tumors from malignant ones were possible. Most discordance stemmed from failure to distinguish different types of malignant tumors. In meningioma, neurilemmoma, pituitary adenoma, and medulloblastoma, cytologic diagnostic accuracy was high, but germinoma, malignant ependymoma, and hemangioblastoma were difficult to diagnose by cytology alone.

• Keywords: Aspiration cytology;CNS lesion