Cytological criteria of malignancy.

Abstract

Abstract In tumour cytology, cells are evaluated for the presence of morphological alterations compared with the normal cells from which they originate. When present, these changes are referred to as criteria of malignancy. In malignant tumours, with the exception of well-differentiated forms and some specific neoplasms, most neoplastic cells show multiple morphological features of atypia. However, some of these changes can also be induced by severe inflammation. For this reason, caution should be exercised in diagnosing neoplasia in the presence of numerous inflammatory cells. In all those cases where a definitive diagnosis is not possible, histopathological examination should be recommended. In this chapter, the main cytological criteria used to identify malignancy were described. This chapter added nuclear criteria since they are considered more significant because they are less likely to be induced by non-neoplastic processes such as inflammation.