Endoscopic Brush Cytology And Biopsy Correlation In Upper Gastrointestinal Neoplasms.

Upper Gastrointestinal Tract Is A Common Site For Neoplasms, Especially Malignant Tumors. Worldwide, Gastric Adenocarcinoma Is The Second Most Common Cancer And Carcinoma Oesophagus Is The Sixth Leading Cause Of Death.1,2 In India, According To The National Registry, Oesophagus And Stomach Are The Leading Sites For The Development Of Cancer. Esophageal And Gastric Cancers Are The Most Frequent Cancers Found In Indian Men, While Esophageal Cancer Ranks Third Among Women After Carcinoma Of Breast And Cervix.3 Early Detection Of Malignancy Greatly Improves The Survival Rate Of The Patients. The 5-Year Survival Rate Of Early Esophageal Cancer Is 83.5% And Early Gastric Cancer Is More Than 90%.4 With The Advent Of Fiberoptic Endoscopy, Application Of Cytologic Methods Has Become More Popular In Detecting And Diagnosing The Lesions Of The Different Segments Of The Gastrointestinal Tract. The Major Advantage Of The GI Endoscopy Is The Direct Visualization Of The Lesions, Which Is Apparently Useful In Selective Sampling Of The Tissue For Diagnosis.5 Various Techniques For Collection Of Cytological Samples Have Been Described.6 Endoscopic Direct Vision Brush Cytology Is One Among Them. Brush Cytology Will Retrieve Epithelial Cells From A Larger Surface Area Of Mucosa Than A Tissue Biopsy. As Malignant Cells Posses A Lower Level Of Intercellular Cohesion Than Normal Cells, Brushing Can Selectively Sample These Dyshesive Cells. This Procedure Is Non-Invasive, Cost Effective And Has A Rapid Turn Over Time. Despite Being Popular And Clinically Useful, Brush Cytology Is Not Routinely Being Performed In The Government General Hospital. Therefore, The Present Study Was Undertaken To Evaluate Its Utility In Diagnosing Neoplasms Of The Upper Gastrointestinal Tract