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Introduction: Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) is a minimally invasive procedure that allows for the sampling of distal airways and the alveolar environment to diagnose infectious and non infectious respiratory tract diseases. It is a safe and reliable method considered for diagnosis. Aim: To evaluate the concordance of BAL cytology with the histopathology report of biopsied cases concerning cancer diagnosis. Materials and Methods: The study was a cross-sectional observational study conducted in the Department of Respiratory Medicine at King George's Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, which is a tertiary care teaching hospital in northern India. Reported BAL cytology cases for one year, from September 2022 to September 2023, were retrieved from records and consecutive histology was followed for cytohistological correlation. The sensitivity, specificity, Negative Predictive Value (NPV) and Positive Predictive Value (PPV) of BAL cytology were calculated with reference to the identification of malignancy. Histological diagnosis was considered the gold standard and the specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value and NPV of BAL were calculated. Results: The BAL was performed in 261 cases with a mean age of 56.79 years. The adequacy of BAL cytology was 88.12% (230/261). Of the 261 cases, eight were positive for epithelial malignancies, three were suspicious for malignancies, 219 were reported as negative for malignant cells and 31 cases were deemed inadequate. A biopsy was performed in 56 out of 261 cases (21.45%) and 32 of these cases were found to have epithelial malignancy. A total of 13 cases were reported negative for malignancy, of which 12 were in concordance with BAL results. Three cases were reported as suspicious for malignancy and three were diagnosed as non epithelial malignancies on biopsy, which were deemed inadequate on cytology. Based on the interpretation of the data, the specificity of BAL cytology with respect to histology was 100%, with a PPV of 100%; however, the sensitivity was 14.28% and the NPV was 28.57. Conclusion: The present study results clearly show that BAL cytology is a specific test for malignant diagnosis in lung lesions, in addition to its role in inflammatory conditions. However, due to its low sensitivity, it may not serve as a good screening method. BAL fluid cytology primarily samples the lower respiratory tract, which may not always be affected by malignancy. The low sensitivity may also be attributed to procedural and interpretation limitations. It can serve as a complement to bronchial brushings and histology for the diagnosis of lung cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synchronous Tumours (ST) are defined as two or more neoplasms originating within six months of diagnosing the first neoplasm. Due to the rarity of synchronous cervical Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) and ovarian Brenner tumours, their pathology has been poorly understood. These patients usually present with symptoms related to cervical cancer and are often diagnosed early. Since many synchronous tumours are incidentally discovered postoperatively, it is important to conduct thorough grossing and histopathological examinations. The primary differential diagnosis for synchronous tumours is multiple metastases from a single primary tumour. The management of multiple tumours is not well-defined and depends on various factors. In the present case, authors present a rare occurrence of synchronous neoplasms: cervical SCC and preoperatively undiagnosed benign Brenner tumour of the left ovary in a 52-year-old postmenopausal female. Immunohistochemistry helped rule out metastasis from a single primary and metastasis from cervical cancer to the ovary. The ovarian tumour showed immunoreactivity for GATA Binding Protein 3 (GATA) but was negative for Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA). The cervical SCC was immunopositive for CEA and p40, while no immunoreactivity was observed with GATA 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: E-cadherin is a glycoprotein cell adhesion molecule, which is important for maintenance of epithelial integrity and its loss is a useful biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of preneoplastic and neoplastic squamous cell lesions. Aim: To evaluate and compare the expression of E-cadherin in oral and cervical premalignant and malignant squamous cell lesions. Materials and Methods: A total of 66 specimens (nine normal, 32 premalignant and 25 malignant) were obtained from oral cavity and cervix including 41 female and 25 male patients, which were divided into Group-I (control), Group-II (premalignant) and Group-III (malignant). Tumour grading and staging was performed. Immunohistochemical staining was done using monoclonal mouse antibody, E-cadherin as per manufacturer’s instruction. Analysis was performed using SPSS software version 17.0. Results: E-cadherin expression showed significantly (p=0.006) higher grades of expression in Group-I as compared to Group II and group III. Expression of E-cadherin was homogenous with membranous pattern in 100% cases of group I and was found in basal and parabasal layers of epithelium. Among group III, welldifferentiated squamous cell carcinoma showed strong staining (++) in 92.3% of cases as compared to moderately/poorly differentiated tumours (16.7% of cases). As tumour become poorly differentiated cytoplasmic staining was predominant pattern in 50% of cases of moderately/poorly differentiated tumour. Overall comparison of E-cadherin expression between oral and cervix lesions showed insignificant difference (p>0.05). Conclusion: E-cadherin expression was found to inversely correlate with the loss of cell differentiation. It can be used as prognostic marker for both oral and cervical premalignant and malignant squamous cell lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]