Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026
Optimization of Breast Biopsy and Mastectomy Sample Collection Procedures for Biobanking, Personalized Medicine, and Research Applications
Published on: September 2, 2025
Touch preparation of breast core needle specimens is a new method for same-day diagnosis
Rena Kass1, Ronda S Henry-Tillman, Jacob Nurko
1Department of Surgery, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Cancer Research Center, Central Arkansas Veterans Health Care System, Little Rock, AR 72205-7199, USA.
Background:
Touch preparation cytology (TPC) has proven to be a quick and accurate intraoperative diagnostic tool for excisional breast biopsy, margins and sentinel nodes. We hypothesized that TPC of core needle biopsy (CNB) specimens can provide a same-day diagnosis in the outpatient setting.
Methods:
Outpatients presenting with breast lesions underwent TPC of biopsy cores performed by biopsy gun or vacuum-assisted CNB. The TPC results were compared with the final diagnosis of CNB specimens.
Results:
In all, 199 CNB and TP were performed between August 1997 and October 2002. Twenty-nine percent of lesions were malignant. Touch preparation was deferred in 21% of cases. In the remaining 157 evaluable cases, TPC had an accuracy of 89% and a false negative rate of 26%. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of TPC were 74%, 97%, 93%, and 86% respectively.
Conclusions:
Touch preparation cytology on CNB can be performed simply in the outpatient setting. Collaboration between the surgeon and pathologist allows TP to be an accurate means of same-day pathological determination.
