Endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration in combination with flow cytometry in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal lymphoma

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) in combination with flow cytometry (FCM) in lymphoma.Methods From January 2011 to December 2011,the cases of suspicious lymphoma with EUS-FNA examination at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital were retrospectively analyzed.The final diagnosis was according to pathological diagnosis of specimen from the surgery and follow up results.The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of EUS-FNA combined with FCM in lymphoma diagnosis were initially analyzed.Results A total of 14 suspicious lymphoma patients were collected,eight cases were diagnosed as lymphoma by pathological examination of specimen from the surgery or.tissue from aspiration,four cases were non-lymphoma lesions and two cases still had no final diagnosis.The sensitivity and specificity of FCM alone in lymphoma diagnosis were 4/8 and 4/4 respectively.Six cases of lymphoma were detected by EUS-FNA with FCM.The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of EUS FNA combined with FCM were 6/8,6/6 and 10/12 respectively.Conclusion EUS-FNA combined with FCM has better diagnostic value in lymphoma,especially for gastrointestinal lymphoma and those surrounding deep lesions. Key words: Gastrointestinal neoplasms;  Lymphoma;  Endoscopy;  Flow cytometry;  Aspiration biopsy, fine-needle