Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the testes in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: preliminary report.

Eighteen patients with childhood acute lymphoblastic (ALL) or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in remission and 2 patients with ALL in suspected testicular relapses were studied by testicular fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Well-preserved testicular cells, both singly and in small clusters, were considered indicative of an adequate aspiration. Of 18 patients in remission, 17 had at least one adequate sample from each testis and one showed evidence of leukemic infiltrate. None of these patients experienced a relapse during a median follow up of 4 years. In 2 other patients with clinically suspected testicular relapses, the smears from fine needle aspirates contained numerous malignant lymphoid cells that could be readily distinguished from seminiferous tubular cells. The observations indicate that FNAC is a promising new approach to study testicular conditions in childhood ALL and NHL. A larger prospective study and accumulation of additional follow-up data is required before a definitive evaluation of the technique can be made.