Ultrasonically guided fine needle aspiration biopsy for the diagnosis of abdominal tumors

The authors report on the value of ultrasonically guided fine needle (0.6 mm = 23 gauge) biopsy in the morphological diagnosis of abdominal tumors. The method is characterized by a high specificity, resulting from the direct evidencing of the tumoral cells. The accuracy of the method bears on the ultrasonographist's experience, who must puncture the tumor in its peripheral, un-necrotized, zones. The method is rapid and only slightly invasive, involving low risk for the patients. Our results correlate well with the existing literature.