title: Can nonproliferative breast disease and proliferative breast disease without atypia be distinguished by fine-needle aspiration cytology?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cytologic criteria reported to be helpful in the distinction of proliferative breast disease without atypia (PBD) from nonproliferative breast disease (NPBD) have not been rigorously tested.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-one air-dried, Diff-Quik-stained fine-needle aspirates (FNA) of palpable breast lesions with biopsy-proven diagnoses of NPBD (34 cases) or PBD (17 cases) were reviewed. The smears were evaluated for the cellularity, size, and architectural arrangement of the epithelial groups; the presence of single epithelial cells and myoepithelial cells; and nuclear characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The only cytologic feature found to be significantly different between PBD and NPBD was a swirling pattern of epithelial cells. A swirling pattern was noted in 13 of 17 PBD cases (76%) and 12 of 34 NPBD cases (35%) (P = 0.008).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Because there is significant overlap in cytologic features between NPBD and PBD, the distinction between the two entities is difficult in cytologic sampling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC., USA.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Frost
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aksu
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kurstin
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Sidawy
mesh_terms: D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D001941:Breast Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000473:pathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests