Open AccessThe Diagnostic Impact of Aspiration Cytodiagnosis of Breast Masses in Association with Pregnancy and Lactation with an Emphasis on Clinical Decision Making
Author(s) -
Gupta Raj K.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
the breast journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1524-4741
pISSN - 1075-122X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1524-4741.1997.tb00156.x
Subject(s) - medicine , fine needle aspiration , biopsy , pregnancy , lactation , mammary gland , aspiration biopsy , obstetrics , abnormality , gynecology , breast examination , cytology , general surgery , surgery , pathology , mammography , breast cancer , cancer , genetics , biology , psychiatry
Recently, in a review of fine‐needle aspiration cytology of the breast that was done from January 1983 to June 1996, of the total of 18,695 cases, 331 aspirates had been submitted from women with breast mass(es) associated with pregnancy and lactation. As a result of this review it was noted that benign breast lesions were diagnosed in aspirates with minimal difficulty. In 10 (3.05%) of women in which the cytodiagnosis of carcinoma was made, the findings corresponded with subsequent cell blocks from the aspirate and tissue examination. All aspirates that were suboptimal (scanty, acellular) for cytodiagnosis were repeated as many as two to three times to minimize the chance of missing the abnormality. In cases with a persistent mass, the aspiration was repeated. With this protocol of follow‐up, the effect on clinical decision making was significant in that the need of customary surgical biopsy was reduced to a bare minimum.