Brush cytology in the diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal malignancy.

In a review of 196 cases of malignant neoplasms of the esophagus and stomach, endoscopically guided brush cytology at the initial examination appreciably improved diagnostic accuracy of esophageal lesions. However, cytology may have been superfluous when routinely applied to the evaluation of lesions intrinsic to the stomach. In these cases, when biopsy is negative while radiography or endoscopic appearance is that of mailgnancy, then brush cytology is recommended as an adjunct to repeated endoscopy.