European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: For the evaluation and assessment of both non-gynaecologic and gynaecologic
specimens, extensive use of LBC (Liquid-based cytology) has gained popularity in the recent
past. Better assessment morphologically is possible owing to the monolayer cell suspension.
Also, LBC allows assessment of nucleolar prominence, smaller cell size, fragmented cell
clusters, lost, reduced, or altered background material.
Aim: The present study was conducted to comparatively evaluate the utility and efficacy of
Liquid-Based Cytology over conventional smears for assessment of the breast lesion, and to
assess their use as an alternative to the conventional preparation.
Materials and Methods: The present prospective clinical study included 374 female subjects
of the FNAC (fine-needle aspiration cytology) obtained from subjects having palpable breast
lesions. The second pass was given, whereas, the first pass was used for either LBC or
conventional smear. Several criteria were used to compare representative LBC and
conventional smear. Individual scoring of each criterion was done followed by statistical
evaluation.
Results: The study results showed that statistically non-significant difference was seen
between LBS and conventional concerning nuclear and cytoplasmic details, presence of
monolayer,cytoarchitectural pattern, and cellularity, whereas, a statistically significant
difference was seen for background blood-debris and informative background.