title: Fine-needle aspiration biopsy of axillary lymph nodes.
abstract: To assess the efficacy of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of axillary lymph nodes (ALN), we retrospectively analyzed 140 FNAB of ALN at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, examining technique and cytologic-histologic correlation. Of the 140 FNAB, 124 were performed by the conventional method and 16 by ultrasound guidance (USG). The diagnoses included: unsatisfactory, 20; negative, 38; positive, 72; suspicious, 6; and indeterminate, 4. Positive diagnoses included: carcinoma, 44.4%; melanoma, 43.0%; lymphoma, 5.6%; sarcoma, 5.6%; and mesothelioma, 1.4%; one of which was false-positive, attributed to misinterpretation. All indeterminate and most false-negative cases were due to lymphoproliferative conditions. The sensitivity and specificity of FNAB of ALN were 94.7% and 97.1% and the adequacy rate was 85.7%. The sensitivity, specificity, and adequacy rates of USG FNAB were 100%. Our study shows that FNAB of ALN is an excellent method for diagnosing reactive conditions as well as neoplasms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cytopathology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Shabnam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jaffer
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zakowski
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001365:Axilla / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D014463:Ultrasonography