FINE-NEEDLE ASPIRATION CYTOLOGY OF THE BREAST - IMPROVING THE PREDICTIVE VALUE OF EQUIVOCAL CYTOLOGIC REPORTS BY MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODY B72.3

The monoclonal antibody B72.3 was tested on 77 consecutive patients wi th masses where cytology was reported as equivocal; all patients had b een examined by palpation, sonography and mammography and underwent su rgical biopsy. The positive predictive value of an equivocal cytologic report in this series was 49.3% (38 carcinomas, 39 benign lesions), B 72.3 immunocytochemical assay was highly accurate (sensitivity = 94.7% , specificity = 82.0%) and had a higher positive predictive value (83. 7%) than conventional cytology. The B72.3 assay may be valuable in cas es with equivocal cytology, as it may improve the final diagnostic jud gement.