Comparison between Cytology and Histopathology of Lung Tumours: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths world-wide, predominantly Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers (NSCLC), consisting mainly of adenocarcinoma, followed by squamous cell carcinoma, Adenosquamous carcinoma, and large-cell anaplastic carcinoma. For early diagnosis, bronchoalveolar lavage plays a key role in diagnosis. Bronchoalveolar lavage is easier to perform, cost effective and yields good diagnostic value and is time saving. Aim: To evaluate lung malignancies from bronchoalveolar lavage and to find the concordance between cytological diagnosis with the histopathological diagnosis. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted during the period of three years from December 2021 to December 2024 at the Stanley Medical College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 60 lung carcinoma cases and 10 control cases, which received as bronchoalveolar lavage wash and brush were processed and reported along with their fibre optic bronchoscopic biopsy tissue blocks. Results: In the present study, 60 cases of biopsy positive lung carcinoma and 10 control were taken and correlated with cytological studies. A total of 54 cases were positively reported as malignant in cytology, three smears had no cells and three showed no evidence of malignancy, giving 90% sensitivitypositive concordance between cytology and histopathology, yielding high positive predictive value (100%) with cytology smears. Data were analysed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 using descriptive statistics and the chi-square/Fisher’s exact test, with p<0.001 was considered statistically significant. Conclusion: Bronchoalveolar Lavage Wash and Brush specimens have excellent correlation with Fibre optic Bronchoscopic biopsy for Histopathology, thereby helping in early and quick diagnosis of lung carcinoma. Thus, an invasive procedure like biopsy can be avoided if cytology shows positive for malignancy.