Abstract Introduction: Cytological samples from cutaneous melanoma (CM) metastases may be the only biomaterial available for diagnostic and predictive purpose in the clinical practice. BRAF evaluation from cytological samples actually implies the loss of one or more diagnostic smears, or the execution of one or more passes to obtain dedicated cytological samples. We tested BRAF molecular evaluation in CM metastases on cell suspension obtained from fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) needle rinses. Methods: Forty-two patients with lymph node enlargements and a previous CM were enrolled. Patients were submitted to FNAC, and direct smears and cell-block were prepared for diagnostic purpose. The needle was carefully flushed in a vial containing 350μL of nuclease-free water and a cell suspension was obtained for BRAF molecular evaluation. Molecular evaluation was also performed on histological samples for statistics. Results: The series included 35 CM metastases and 7 reactive lymphadenopathies. Three cases resulted inadequate and adequacy was 92.9%. BRAF V600E/Ec mutations were found in 7 out of 32 (21.9%) CM metastases cases. BRAF mutations other than V600E/Ec were found in 2 out of 32 (6.25%) cases. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value resulted 100%. Conclusion: BRAF molecular evaluation in CM metastases on cell suspension obtained from FNAC needle rinses is a time-sparing and accurate technique allowing to spare biomaterial in the clinical setting.


中文翻译：

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事半功倍：对细针抽吸细胞学 (FNAC) 针冲洗液中的细胞悬浮液进行黑色素瘤转移的 BRAF 分子评估。

摘要简介：来自皮肤黑色素瘤（CM）转移的细胞学样本可能是临床实践中唯一可用于诊断和预测目的的生物材料。细胞学样本的 BRAF 评估实际上意味着丢失一份或多份诊断涂片，或者执行一轮或多轮以获得专用细胞学样本。我们在细针抽吸细胞学 (FNAC) 针冲洗液中获得的细胞悬液上测试了 CM 转移的 BRAF 分子评估。方法：纳入 42 名患有淋巴结肿大且既往患有 CM 的患者。患者接受 FNAC，并准备直接涂片和细胞块用于诊断目的。将针小心地冲洗在含有 350μL 无核酸酶水的小瓶中，并获得细胞悬浮液用于 BRAF 分子评估。还对组织学样本进行了分子评估以进行统计。结果：该系列包括 35 例 CM 转移瘤和 7 例反应性淋巴结病。不合格3例，合格率为92.9%。32 例 CM 转移病例中有 7 例 (21.9%) 发现 BRAF V600E/Ec 突变。32 例中有 2 例 (6.25%) 发现了除 V600E/Ec 之外的 BRAF 突变。敏感性、特异性、阳性预测值和阴性预测值均为 100%。结论：对 FNAC 针冲洗获得的细胞悬液中的 CM 转移进行 BRAF 分子评估是一种省时且准确的技术，可以在临床环境中节省生物材料。