Diagnostic dilemma of FNA diagnosis of secretory carcinoma of breast

Secretory carcinoma (SC) is one of the least common types of breast carcinoma. The tumor has distinctive histologic features with prominent secretory activity similar to lactational change and minimal nuclear atypia. As the cytomorphologic features of SC overlaps benign breast lesions with lactational change and apocrine change, the initial diagnosis of SC may be missed on cytology in some cases. A 29-year-old woman presented with a lump in the left breast since 9 months. The fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) suggested proliferative breast disease without atypia. Excision biopsy showed secretory carcinoma. The case is presented to highlight the cytologic features of SC, which may overlap with lactational change and apocrine change

Role of direct immunofluorescence in the diagnosis of glomerulonephritis

Background: Immunofluorescence microscopy is a vital tool for the diagnosis of glomerular diseases. This study was carried out to study patterns of glomerulonephritis (GN) and to record the sensitivity of direct immunofluorescence (DIF) in renal lesions. The DIF findings were correlated with clinical and histopathology findings and discrepancies were analyzed. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional analytical study was conducted during the period July 2011 to July 2013 at a tertiary care Hospital, Department of Pathology. A total of 75 renal biopsies were received for routine and immunofluorescence studies in which histopathology and clinical data were reviewed and analyzed. Results: The sensitivity of DIF was 87.9% and specificity was 70.5%. The maximum number of cases were seen in the age group 41-50 years. The pattern of GN by DIF was minimal change disease (MCD) in 24%, IgA nephropathy in 13%, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in 9% and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis in 8% of the cases. Twelve histopathologically proven cases of GN were negative on DIF. One case of MCD on histopathology was diagnosed as IgM nephropathy based on DIF. Conclusion: Direct immunofluorescence forms an important diagnostic tool in reaching the exact diagnosis in various types of GN presenting with overlapping clinical and histomorphological features