Techniques and results of aspiration cytology for diagnosis of benign and malignant diseases of the breast.

The use of fine needle aspiration to obtain cellular material for pathologic examination was introduced in 1930 but fell out of favor for several years. In today's medical environment, fine needle aspiration is proving to be more efficacious and cost effective than conventional breast biopsy. The authors detail the technique, its complications, the reliability of the results and ways to improve it, and the suitability of the material for hormone receptor assays, detection of tumor-related problems, and ultrastructural study as well as for standard cytologic diagnosis.