Diagnostic fine needle aspiration of soft tissue metastases from cancer of the prostate.

Pathologic confirmation of soft tissue metastases is necessary for staging and followup of patients with cancer of the prostate. Fine needle aspiration with cytologic evaluation is recommended over other biopsy procedures because it is safe, accurate and applicable to deep and superficial lesions. Small metastases, such as lymph nodes or skin nodules, remain in situ as useful markers to follow the course of the disease and response to treatment.