TY - JOUR
T1 - The importance of cytologic intrarater and interrater reproducibility
T2 - The case of ductal lavage
AU - Visvanathan, Kala
AU - Santor, Deborah
AU - Ali, Syed Z.
AU - Hong, In Soon
AU - Davidson, Nancy E.
AU - Helzlsouer, Kathy J.
PY - 2006/12
Y1 - 2006/12
N2 - The reproducibility of a test result is a critical component of its clinical utility. Little information is available concerning the intrarater reproducibility of cytologic assessments. This study evaluated the reproducibility of cytologic interpretation of epithelial cells obtained from ductal lavage (DL), a minimally invasive method used to obtain sample cells from breast tissue. Two cytospin slides were made for each duct sampled. Slides with <10 cells were considered inadequate to make a diagnosis; the remaining slides were classified into mildly atypical, markedly atypical, and malignant cells. Each pair of slides were classified by the more serious diagnosis. DL samples from 100 ducts were independently blind-reviewed by two experienced cytopathologists. All abnormal slides and a random sample of normal slides and slides identified as inadequate for diagnosis (n = 43) were rereviewed. The κ for intrarater agreement was 0.59 ± 0.10 for cytopathologist 1 and 0.33 ± 0.08 for cytopathologist 2. The κ for interrater agreement of slides from 100 ducts was 0.46 ± 0.07. The interrater agreement of the slides that were rereviewed was κ = 0.27 ± 0.09. Fair to moderate intrarater and interrater agreement of DL cytology was observed. Low intrarater and interrater cytologic consistency may compromise the interpretation of clinical studies of DL.
AB - The reproducibility of a test result is a critical component of its clinical utility. Little information is available concerning the intrarater reproducibility of cytologic assessments. This study evaluated the reproducibility of cytologic interpretation of epithelial cells obtained from ductal lavage (DL), a minimally invasive method used to obtain sample cells from breast tissue. Two cytospin slides were made for each duct sampled. Slides with <10 cells were considered inadequate to make a diagnosis; the remaining slides were classified into mildly atypical, markedly atypical, and malignant cells. Each pair of slides were classified by the more serious diagnosis. DL samples from 100 ducts were independently blind-reviewed by two experienced cytopathologists. All abnormal slides and a random sample of normal slides and slides identified as inadequate for diagnosis (n = 43) were rereviewed. The κ for intrarater agreement was 0.59 ± 0.10 for cytopathologist 1 and 0.33 ± 0.08 for cytopathologist 2. The κ for interrater agreement of slides from 100 ducts was 0.46 ± 0.07. The interrater agreement of the slides that were rereviewed was κ = 0.27 ± 0.09. Fair to moderate intrarater and interrater agreement of DL cytology was observed. Low intrarater and interrater cytologic consistency may compromise the interpretation of clinical studies of DL.
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U2 - 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-06-0578
DO - 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-06-0578
M3 - Article
C2 - 17164385
AN - SCOPUS:33846015813
SN - 1055-9965
VL - 15
SP - 2553
EP - 2556
JO - Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention
JF - Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention
IS - 12
ER -