Diagnostic Utility of Immunocytochemistryby Using Liquid-Based-Cytology(LBC) Slides.

INTRODUCTION: Cytological specimens, such as fine needle aspirations (FNAs) and exfoliative cytology samples, offer a minimally invasive avenue for diagnostic purposes. Liquid-based-cytology (LBC), initially designed for cervical cytology, has gained prominence as an alternative technique for nongynecological cytology. immunocytochemistry (ICC) is an ancillary method using mostly used entities exhibit morphological overlap, or cellular origin requires clarification. This study aims to assess ICC's diagnostic utility when applied to LBC slides and to evaluate its efficacy concerning residual material waiting time.

METHODS: In total, 74cases underwent examination, with ICC applied to LBC slides if cell blocks were unavailable or insufficient for 12-month period. The cases with sufficient cell blocks were excluded from study. For main LBC cytology slidesSurePath pap test kit was used. For ICC study 1-4 PAP-stained LBC slides were obtained from each case's residual material. The slides were thenstained with primary antibody.

RESULTS: Effective results for ICC study were obtained in 81% of cases. The samples were categorized into groups based on the waiting time of residual LBC material for ICC analysis: 1-5 days, 6-10 days, 11-20 days, and 20-40 days. Comparative analysis revealed a decline in ICC efficacy as the waiting time increased. In addition, a statistically significant difference was observed between the 11-20 days and 20-40 days groups (p<0.05). An analysis of 142 LBC slides stained immunocytochemically revealed that nuclear markers exhibited higher effectiveness compared to non-nuclear markers, although no significant difference was detected between the two groups.

CONCLUSION: The high rates and effective results can be obtained in ICC studies performed on additional slides obtained from residual material of LBC up to the first 20 days. ICC applied to LBC slides is an important and useful alternative for diagnostic and prognostic markers in cases where cell block does not ocur or is insufficient.