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Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology of the Breast

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Practical Cytopathology

Part of the book series: Practical Anatomic Pathology ((PAP))

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Abstract

Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of the breast is a rapid, cost-effective, safe, and accurate diagnostic test for breast lesions in the hands of experienced cytopathologists. Despite being partly replaced by core needle biopsy in most developed countries over the last 10–20 years, breast FNA cytology has still been widely applied in developing countries and in some medical facilities of developed countries for the preoperative investigation of breast mass lesions, triage of benign breast tumors, guidance on axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy, confirmation of metastasis, and obtaining materials for biomarker and molecular testing. The purpose of this chapter is to answer the commonly encountered questions regarding the current indications of breast FNA cytology, cytological features and diagnoses of benign and malignant breast lesions, limitations and pitfalls of breast FNA cytology, the use of cell block and ancillary tests to assist cytological diagnoses, and the application of cytological materials for predictive biomarker and molecular testing. The chapter also illustrates several cases of breast FNA cytology most commonly encountered in the practice of cytopathology in North America.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, British Columbia Cancer Agency, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Chen Zhou, Gang Wang & Malcolm Hayes

Authors
  1. Chen Zhou
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  2. Gang Wang
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  3. Malcolm Hayes
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chen Zhou .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA

    Huihong Xu

  2. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Xiaohua Qian

  3. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    He Wang

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Zhou, C., Wang, G., Hayes, M. (2020). Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology of the Breast. In: Xu, H., Qian, X., Wang, H. (eds) Practical Cytopathology . Practical Anatomic Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24059-2_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24059-2_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-24058-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-24059-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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