Stereotaxic Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytologic Evaluation of Non-palpable Breast Lesions

Although long-term mammography is the standard means of evaluation for the probably benign lesions of breast, some times we feel obliged to know about the benignity and the extent of lesions earlier. therefore we evaluated the diagnostic value of stereotaxic fine-needle aspiration (sfna) in low suspicion breast lesions as an alternative to the routine modality.methods: the study included 150 low-suspicion or probably benign breast lesions detected on mammography. all cases underwent sfna and followed by exciosional biopsy or follow-up mammography based on sfna findings.results: fibroadenoma and normal tissue lesions were diagnosed in 57% of patients, in whom no evidence of malignancy was found in the follow-up period. in 48 patients with cytologic findings suggestive of proliferative fibrocystic disease, three cases of malignancy were detected by excisional biopsy.conclusion: a sfna result suggesting benignity allows safe clinical follow-up, whereas a suspicious or equivocal diagnosis needs more invasive modalities for further investigations.