[Fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of primary liver cancer].

From Dec. 1979 to Dec. 1984, 171 patients suspicious of primary liver cancer (PLC) were examined by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). In this series, 148 patients were finally diagnosed as PLC. By FNAC, 133 of 148 patients showed positive cytology and 4 suspiciously positive cytology. The overall diagnostic accuracy was 92.6% There was no false positive. Neither spreading or bleeding were observed. The results show that FNAC examination, being simple, rapid and safe, could serve as a reliable way of diagnosing the suspected PLC.