Fine-needle aspiration biopsy for suspected uveal metastases.

OBJECTIVE

One indication of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is the diagnostic confirmatory of a clinical suspicion of uveal metastasis. We analyzed our experience in this clinical setting to assess the effectiveness of FNAB technique.

DESIGN

Retrospective study.

PARTICIPANTS

28 patients (28 eyes) underwent FNAB biopsy.

METHODS

Aspirates were performed using 25-gauge needle and were classified into the following categories: positive, atypical, negative, or nondiagnostic. The electronic medical records provided all clinical data. Subsequent clinical course was considered as the diagnostic standard.

RESULTS

Subsequent clinical course was metastatic tumour in 19 cases (68%) and nonmetastatic tumour in other 9 cases, considered as the diagnostic standard. Cytological interpretations for metastases were positive in 19 cases (68%), atypical in 2 cases (7%), negative in 4 cases (14%), and nondiagnostic in 3 cases (11%). The metastasis-positive cases included 9 adenocarcinoma, 3 uveal lymphoma, 3 small cell carcinomas, 3 non-small cell carcinomas, and 1 metastatic paraganglioma. Both of the atypical cases were suggestive for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The 4 negative cases for metastases included 2 true negative cases, and 2 false negative aspirates that subsequently proved to be metastatic adenocarcinoma. The 3 nondiagnostic cases included 1 schwannoma, 1 low-grade uveal non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and 1 metastatic adenocarcinoma. The overall sensitivity for FNAB was 87.5%, with a specificity of 100%.

CONCLUSIONS

FNAB of suspected uveal metastases is a reliable diagnostic technique.