OCCULT BREAST-LESIONS AND ASPIRATION BIOPSY - THE LANKENAU EXPERIENCE

With the increased use of screening mammography, many occult lesions a re being identified. Despite the availability of ultrasonography and s tereotaxis, their use in conjunction with fine-needle aspiration biops y for further examination of these lesions, at the time when cost cont ainment is a serious consideration, must be evaluated. Consequently, t he role of cytopathologist becomes important in identifying lesions re quiring timely follow-up and surgical treatment. To assist the clinici ans in evaluating the best approach to occult lesions, we reviewed the results from ultrasonographic guided aspiration biopsies (100) and st ereotactic guided aspiration biopsies (61) at our institution. Our fin dings and review of the literature suggest that the former should only be used sparingly. By contrast, stereotactic biopsies interpreted as a part of an interdisciplinary approach can provide critical informati on for decision-making. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.