Correlation between cytological and histopathological diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer and accuracy of cytology in diagnosis of lung cancer

Abstract

Background/Aim. Lung cancer is one of the most common cancer types worldwide. More than 70% of patients are diagnosed in advanced stages of disease, with limited therapeutic options based on cytological and histopathological material. The value of cytology in diagnosing and subtyping of non-small cell lung cancer is very important for modern personalized therapies. The aim of this study is to find out the concordance between cytological and histopathological diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer, and the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of cytology in diagnosing lung cancer. Methods. Two-year retrospective study included 169 patients with cytological diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer, histopathological small biopsy and surgical specimens for diagnosis confirmation, that were copmpared. Histopathological diagnosis on surgical specimens was golden standard for evaluation concordance to cytological diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer and evaluation accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, positive and negative prognostic value of cytology as diagnostic method for detecting lung cancer. Results. This study included 76.3 % (129/169) male and 23.7% (40/169) female, age between 39 and 83, average 62.53?7.6. There was no statistically significant difference between ages of different genders (p=0.207). The most frequent among cytological diagnosis was non-small cell lung cancer in 58.58% (99/169) patients. Concordance between cytological and histopathological diagnoses of surgical specimens was 61.48%. There was no statistically significant difference between cytological diagnoses and histopathological diagnoses of small biopsies specimens (p=0.856). Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative prognostic value and accuracy of cytology as diagnostic method of lung cancer were 94.98%, 98.60%, 95.72%, 98.35% and 97.71%, respectively. Conclusion. Cytological diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer is accurate, with high sensitivity, specificity, and benefits for patients. Most patients are diagnosed in advanced stage of cancer when there is no surgical therapy option and the only available diagnostic material is small biopsy sampled during bronchoscopy.