[Cytodiagnosis by puncture-aspiration of cancer metastases and recurrences].

Aspiration biopsy is a very useful method of obtaining morphologic evidence of metastasis and recurrences in surgical and/or irradiated cancer patients. The merits of the technic are ease of performance and rapidity of diagnosis. Moreover, it does not leave a scar which may delay the commencement of radiation therapy if required. Histologic typing of metastasis is not always possible in cytologic material, but comparison with the usually known structure of the primary tumor and evaluation of the clinical state affords sufficient evidence, for practical purposes, of the origin of the metastasis. Some aspects of 709 positive aspiration biopsies carried out in a radiotherapy department are discussed.