Cytodiagnosis of gastric cancer by brushing: 1978-1983.

A total of 1652 endoscopic cytologic brushings from 1181 patients, 823 males aged 15 to 87 years and 358 females aged 21 to 88 years, were examined. From these we diagnosed 96 carcinomas, 69 in males and 27 in females. In 1621 samplings from 1151 patients it was possible to compare the cytologic and histologic diagnoses. To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of both methods, brushing and biopsy, used separately or in association, we analyzed 81 cases where gastric cancer was confirmed by histologic examination of the removed stomach. The sensitivity rate of the cytodiagnosis was 88.3 % and that of histology was 93.4 %. Combining the two methods gave a sensitivity yield of 96.2 %. These values are among the highest reported in the literature and confirm the utility of combining both methods for diagnosing gastric carcinoma.