G. Peter Vooijs

Flow-cytometric analysis of mixed cell populations using intermediate filament antibodies.

Using two human tumour cell lines, T24 bladder carcinoma and Molt-4 leukemia, flow-cytometric DNA analysis of pure and mixed cell populations was performed using cellular cytokeratin content to distinguish cytokeratin-containing carcinoma cells from leukemia cells which do not contain cytokeratin. Using cytokeratin content to gate DNA analysis, the same specificity and sensitivity of cellular DNA content and distribution measurement could be achieved by single-pass FCM analysis of a mixture of the two cell types as was seen when analysing pure populations of the two cell lines. This technique has broad applicability to FCM analysis of mixed populations composed of cells from different tissues of origin.

Effect of population screening for cancer of the uterine cervix in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Since the introduction of a population screening program for cervical cancer in 1976, more than 85% of the female population between the ages of 35 and 54 years in the region of the city of Nijmegen, The Netherlands, has been screened. At first screening, severe epithelial abnormalities were diagnosed in 4.4 per 1,000 women, at second screening, in 1.5 per 1,000; and at third screening, in 1.0 per 1,000. The population screening program led to a marked increase in the detected number of carcinomata in situ. The number of cases of squamous cell cancer diagnosed in the first screening period did not increase. Once the population was screened, the detection rate of invasive squamous cell cancer in the group of women ages 35 through 54 decreased from 18.6 per 10(5) during the period prior to the screening to 9.0 per 10(5) after the first screening and 3.3 per 10(5) after the second screening. For the women above age 54, the incidence of invasive cancer was reduced by 58% after the second screening. The number of invasive cancers diagnosed in women under age 35 remained relatively small in spite of the large number of cases of carcinoma in situ.

Severe cervical glandular cell lesions and severe cervical combined lesions: predictive value of the papanicolaou smear.

The purpose of the current study was to determine the accuracy of routinely screened cervical smears to predict a glandular cell lesion in histologically confirmed cases of cervical adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), invasive adenocarcinoma (ADCA), adenosquamous carcinoma (ADSQCA), and severe combined glandular and squamous cell lesions.

Severe cervical glandular cell lesions with coexisting squamous cell lesions

In the current report, the authors present the results of a reevaluation of cytologic smears and histologic specimens obtained from patients with severe cervical glandular cell lesions (adenocarcinoma in situ [AIS] or adenocarcinoma [ADCA] of the cervix) and coexisting Grade 1, Grade 2, or Grade 3 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or squamous cell carcinoma. The goal of the current study was to assess whether knowledge of the specific cytologic characteristics of the cervical glandular cell lesions could have made the cytologic diagnosis of these combined neoplasms more accurate.

The use of antibodies to intermediate filament proteins in the differential diagnosis of lymphoma versus metastatic carcinoma

SummaryForty-nine cases encompassing 16 different types of malignant lymphoma were examined for their intermediate filament protein (IFP) type by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy of cryostat sections. In all cases, vimentin was shown to be the only IFP type detectable in these tumours. Lymphomas are negative for keratin and desmin, which are characteristic for benign and malignant epithelial or muscular tissues respectively. In addition, eighteen cases are described in which antibodies to intermediate filament proteins were used successfully to distinguish between lymphoma and metastatic carcinoma where differential diagnosis was difficult or impossible on the basis of routine histology.

The problem of replacement and differentiation of the intestinal epithelium

A Tribute to Stanley F. Patten, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. In January of 1997, cytopathology lost one of its most inspiring and dedicated teachers, researchers, and diagnosticians with the passing of Dr. Stanley F. Patten, Jr. Cancer Cytopathology is honored to publish the last two first authored articles by Dr. Patten, reflecting his studies in automated Papanicolaou smear screening, and provide an opportunity for former friends and colleagues to pay tribute to Dr. Patten with a brief review of a few of the many important contributions to the literature produced during a distinguished career in pathology. Dr. Patten was born June 23, 1924, in San Diego California, the son of a career naval officer. He attended school in the Philippines and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington DC, where the family had taken up residence in 1939. With the onset of World War II, Stan was drafted into the Army, attending officers candidate school, subsequently being assigned to the Medical Administrative Corp in the Pacific throughout the remainder of the conflict. After the end of the war he returned to Washington DC to attend George Washington University, completing his studies in 1953 with a Ph.D. in anatomy. Dr. Peter Vooijs, a long time friend, has provided an insightful look at Dr. Patten’s doctoral dissertation, which perhaps set the stage for both a career in pathology and ultimately a lifelong dedication to cytopathology. On completion of his doctorate in anatomy, Dr. Patten entered medical school at Case Western Reserve University and also joined the faculty. His medical degree was received in 1956, followed by a residency at the Institute of Pathology at Western Reserve. Thus began a friendship and long collaboration with Dr. James Reagan. A great many contributions to the development of gynecologic cytology came from this remarkable duo. Many subsequent trainees in cytopathology benefited immensely from their expertise. It should be remembered that some prominent pathologists were quite skeptical about the detection of cancer from cell samples. Some of this was at least in part due to the use of Papanicolaou’s numeric classification system for reporting gynecologic cytology. Tissue biopsies were reported using descriptive terminology rather than a simple numeric system. Both Reagan and Patten strongly favored abandoning the Papanicolaou classification system in favor of descriptive terminology. More important, they sought from consistently well taken cytologic smears carefully analyzed correlations with histopathology to establish cytopathology on a firm morphologic basis. Two important articles that established this analytic approach to cytopathology are reviewed here by Dr. Michael Henry. In 1963 Dr. Patten assumed directorship of the new cytopathology laboratory at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Under Stan’s leadership, this laboratory became one of the largest and perhaps best known academic cytopathology laboratories in the U.S. Dr. Patten’s