[Cerebrospinal fluid cytology in meningeal invasion of leukemia and malignant lymphoma. Reliable diagnosis by immunocytochemistry].

Cerebrospinal fluid cytology was performed in 64 patients who were suspected of having a meningeal infiltration of malignant lymphoma or leukemia. Conventional staining with May Grünwald Giemsa revealed a positive result in 51 cases, and a negative result in one case. In 4 cases diagnosis was hampered by blood contamination or a lack of CSF cells. In the remaining 8 cases with doubtful cytologic specimens, additional immunocytochemic staining allowed definite diagnosis. In 5 of these cases malignancy was confirmed, while in the remaining 3 an inflammatory cell pattern was found and later confirmed by follow-up. In summary, immunocytochemistry was essential for definite diagnosis in 12% of CSF cell specimens suspected of leukemia or malignant lymphoma. It may be concluded that immunocytochemistry in CSF cytology is a valuable tool for enhancement of diagnostic reliability.