Fine-needle breast aspiration biopsy

Fine-needle aspiration biopsy of breast lesions is a safe, accurate, well-tolerated procedure that can easily be done in the family physician's office. It has a specificity and positive predictive value of virtually 100 percent, a sensitivity of 53 to 99 percent (median of 89 percent), and a negative predictive value of 80 to 99 percent (median of 93 percent). It is limited by the nature of the lesion, which must be easily palpable, the physician's technical ability, and the availability of a reference cytopathologist. Complications are rare and usually very benign, such as local hematoma. With proper training and understanding of the procedure, many family physicians could easily introduce the procedure into their office practice.