Role of Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy of Bone Tumors

With increasing utility and experience, the role of fine-needle aspiration biopsy for tumors of bone has expanded beyond a complementary tool to core-needle biopsy. It allows for rapid on-site evaluation to ensure needle placement and confirmation of adequacy of material for primary diagnosis and ancillary studies. With application of specific immunohistochemical and molecular testing to cell block or direct smears, accurate classification of primary bone tumors can be made on cytology and cell block preparations. In this article, the cytomorphologic features of common and rare neoplasms of bone are reviewed.