ULTRASOUND-GUIDED FINE-NEEDLE ASPIRATION BIOPSY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF BREAST-CANCER RECURRENCE AFTER MASTECTOMY

Purpose: To define the accuracy and clinical impact of fine needle asp iration biopsy (FNAB) in diagnosing recurrent breast cancer after mast ectomy. Material nd Methods: The results of ultrasonography (US) and U S-guided FNAB of 175 lesions located at the mastectomy site or in the ipsilateral axilla were reviewed. The final diagnosis was recurrent ca ncer in 77 cases and benign lesion in 98 cases, as verified by histolo gical examination (n=77) or follow-up (n=98). Results: FNAB yielded a representative aspirate in 92.6% of cases. The sensitivity, specificit y and overall accuracy of FNAB cytology were 96.1%, 89.8% and 92.6% re spectively. US and FNAB cytology were complementary methods in recurre nt cancer diagnosis. The cytologic examination increased the specifici ty of US. The only recurrent tumor which appeared benign both sonograp hically and cytologically was removed because of a suspicious finding at palpation. FNAB cytologic diagnosis was found to have a clinical im pact in 92.2% of the recurrent cases. Conclusion: US-guided FNAB provi ded an accurate adjunct to clinical examination and mammography for di agnosing and excluding boast cancer recurrence after mastectomy.