Evaluation of aspiration biopsy cytology and combined preoperative tests in the diagnosis of breast cancer.

This study was conducted to investigate the usefulness of aspiration biopsy cytology (ABC) and other combined tests for the preoperative diagnosis of breast cancer. In an analysis of 599 aspirates of breast tumors, "suspicious" cases were included among the positive, while "borderline" cases were considered to be negative. The sensitivity of ABC was 87.3%, the specificity was 92.3%, and the predictive value of a positive diagnosis was 92.8%. A total of 207 cases of breast cancer were evaluated to determine the diagnostic significance of breast cancer, particularly for tumors less than 2.0cm by means of quadruple test including physical examination, mammography (MMG), ultrasonography (US), and ABC. The combined tests of MMG or US, and ABC resulted in a sensitivity of 96.2% and 94.9%, respectively, and were considered to complement each other in the diagnosis of small breast cancer. Surgical biopsy is thus not always necessary in malignant cases that are conclusively diagnosed by the combined quadruple test.