title: Comparison of fine needle aspiration and Tru-Cut biopsy of palpable mammary lesions.
abstract: To assess the accuracy and predictive value of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology and Tru-Cut needle biopsy of palpable breast lesions, we studied 215 aspirates obtained from 209 patients and 120 tissue-core biopsies taken from 109 patients. The FNA and Tru-Cut findings have been grouped as benign, malignant, suspicious, and nondiagnostic. Histologic confirmation was obtained in 103 aspirated and 102 biopsied cases. Considering only cases with a definitive benign or malignant diagnosis, the accuracy of FNA was 94%, while the sensitivity and specificity were 90 and 100%, respectively. The predictive value of a positive diagnosis (PV+) was 100% and the predictive value of a negative diagnosis (PV-) was 86%. Likewise, the accuracy of Tru-Cut needle biopsy was 90% while the sensitivity and specificity were 89 and 100%, respectively. The PV+ was 100%, and the PV- was 58%. Our study suggests that FNA cytology of the breast is a reliable diagnostic procedure and it should always be included in the preoperative diagnosis of breast tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Pathology, University of Patras Medical School, Greece.
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Scopa
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Koukouras
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spiliotis
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harkoftakis
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koureleas
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kyriakopoulou
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tzoracoleftherakis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods*; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity