Aspiration biopsy cytology of malignant papillary breast neoplasms

Papillary carcinoma of the breast is a rare neoplasm characterized by a low grade of malignancy. From the files of the Department of Histopathology of Conegliano Veneto City Hospital, Conegliano Veneto, Italy, 16 cases of papillary breast carcinoma diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration cytology have been selected. A multiparametric morphologic study has been performed in order to contribute to the cytologic characterization of this rare group of breast malignancies. The authors believe that aspiration biopsy cytology is able to provide an accurate preoperative diagnosis.