EXPERIENCE IN THE USE OF A CELL BLOCK IN ASSESSING THE CELLULAR COMPOSITION OF STERNAL PUNCTATE. CASE FROM PRACTICE

S.V. Smetanina1, E.N. Slavnova², N.Yu. Orlinskaya3, M.B. Danyaeva1, S.B. Korolkova¹

1Nizhny Novgorod Regional Clinical Oncology Center, Nizhny Novgorod

2Moscow Cancer Research Institute named after P.A. Herzen — branch of the National Medical Research Radiological Center, Moscow

3Privolzhsky Research Medical University, Nizhny Novgorod

Smetanina Svetlana V. — Cand. of Sci. (Med.), Head of the Cytological Laboratory of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Clinical Oncology Center

11/1 Delovaya Str., Nizhny Novgorod, 603163, Russian Federation, tel. +7-904-781-70-60, e-mail: smetanina-svetlana@rambler.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-7000-5910

Abstract. Differential bone marrow cell count is a fundamental step in diagnostic hematology. The identification of metastatic carcinoma cells in sternal aspirates can be technically difficult with routine microscopy. Due to the morphological similarity of poorly differentiated carcinoma cells with young hematopoietic cells, the fact of metastasis can be easily missed or misinterpreted. It is even more difficult to detect micrometastases due to their uneven distribution over the smear, especially outside the imaging area, which leads to an erroneous diagnosis.

Key words: cytological diagnostics, sternal punctate, cell blocks.