Fine needle biopsy Archives - Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia

Purpose: to analyze the factors that may be related to insufficient material in fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Patients and Methods: a total of 351 FNAC of patients with solid breast tumors were studied in a random way: 180 (51%) by Cameco's pistol holder and 171 (49%) by the auto-vacuum device. All smears were analyzed by only one cytopathologist, and they were described as malignant, suspicious, benign or insufficient for diagnosis. The significance of each variable was tested by the c² test. Results: among the 351 cases analyzed, we found 67 (19%) of insufficient material. The device used (pistol or auto-vacuum), the size of the tumor and the clinical stage of the lesions were not related to the frequency of sufficient and insufficient material. The age of the patient and the histological type of the tumor were related to the rate of insufficient material. Patients younger than 50 had a 12% rate of insufficient material, compared to 30 above 50 (p<0.03). The patients with fibroadenosis had a rate of 30%, those with ductal carcinoma, 20%, and those with fibroadenoma 12% (p<0.02). Conclusion: the present study showed a relatively high rate of insufficient material (19%), which was influenced by the age of the patient and the histological type of the biopsied breast lesion.