Choi Ji Eun, Jin Min-Sun, Kim Da Sol, Nikas Ilias P, Ryu Han Suk
Department of Pathology, Samkwang Medical Laboratories, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Department of Pathology, Bucheon St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Bucheon, Republic of Korea.
J Cytol. 2025 Jul-Sep;42(3):142-150. doi: 10.4103/joc.joc_16_25. Epub 2025 Aug 29.
Whereas liquid-based cytology (LBC) is often the preferred method in gynecological and non-gynecological cytopathology compared to conventional preparation, it does have several limitations. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and specific cytomorphologic characteristics of the newly developed WellPrep (WP) in comparison with SurePath™ (SP) in serous effusion cytology.
A total of 178 body cavity effusion samples were collected, which were divided and further processed using both WP and SP methods. The LBC slides of the cases were independently evaluated regarding their cytomorphologic features by three pathologists. Among them, the diagnosis of 66 cases (42.6%) was confirmed as non-neoplastic or malignant using a combination of histopathological, clinical, and/or radiological follow-up. Statistical analysis was conducted to assess the diagnostic concordance and differences in selected cytomorphologic features between the two LBC methods.
WP demonstrated diagnostic performance comparable to SP, with a concordance rate of 75.7% (kappa = 0.659; Spearman's = 0.920). Furthermore, the diagnostic accuracy measures tested were not different between WP and SP. No case processed with WP or SP showed suboptimal slide quality. For cytomorphologic features, cellular degeneration was less frequently observed in WP than in SP. SP showed more even cellular distribution and better preservation of architectural patterns. SP also more frequently exhibited prominent nucleoli, cytoplasmic vacuoles, and signet ring cell features.
WP offers comparable slide quality and diagnostic accuracy with SP in serous effusion cytopathology. However, more research using larger patient cohorts would provide more evidence regarding WP.
与传统制片方法相比，液基细胞学检查（LBC）在妇科和非妇科细胞病理学中通常是首选方法，但它确实存在一些局限性。本研究旨在评估新开发的WellPrep（WP）与SurePath™（SP）在浆液性积液细胞学检查中的诊断准确性和特定细胞形态学特征。
共收集了178份体腔积液样本，将其分开并使用WP和SP方法进一步处理。三位病理学家对这些病例的LBC玻片的细胞形态学特征进行了独立评估。其中，66例（42.6%）病例的诊断通过组织病理学、临床和/或放射学随访相结合的方式确认为非肿瘤性或恶性。进行统计分析以评估两种LBC方法在选定细胞形态学特征方面的诊断一致性和差异。
WP显示出与SP相当的诊断性能，一致性率为75.7%（kappa = 0.659；Spearman's = 0.920）。此外，WP和SP之间测试的诊断准确性指标没有差异。用WP或SP处理的病例均未显示玻片质量欠佳。对于细胞形态学特征，WP中观察到细胞退变的频率低于SP。SP显示细胞分布更均匀，结构模式保存更好。SP还更频繁地表现出明显的核仁、细胞质空泡和印戒细胞特征。
在浆液性积液细胞病理学中，WP与SP具有相当的玻片质量和诊断准确性。然而，使用更大患者队列的更多研究将为WP提供更多证据。
