HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA - NEEDLE-BIOPSY FINDINGS IN 74 CASES

Needle aspiration specimens from 74 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnosed between January 1986 and December 1992 were reviewed a nd compared with 57 other lesions. The most specific cytologic finding s for HCC included capillaries separating tumor cells (34%), bile asso ciated with malignant cells (19%), and endothelial cells lining cluste rs of neoplastic cells (18%). Less specific findings included polygona l cells with central nuclei resembling normal hepatocytes and intranuc lear inclusions. Tissue core fragments available in 53 cases of HCC di sclosed that a weak keratin (AE1/AE3) stain (75% of HCC), a canalicula r pattern of polyclonal carcinoembryonic antigen (54%), and a positive alpha-fetoprotein stain (58%) are diagnostic of HCC. All HCCs were ne gative for monoclonal carcinoembryonic antigen. In situ hybridization for albumin mRNA was positive in 27 of 33 cases of HCC. The diagnosis of HCC by needle biopsy should include cytologic findings and the appr opriate immunohistochemical profile, along with detection of albumin m RNA by in situ hybridization. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.