Adequacy of Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology for Breast Lesions: The SurePath® Liquid-Based Technique versus Conventional Smears

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to assess the cytological findings from fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of breast lesions with conventional smear (CS) and SurePath® (SP) cytology. Study Design: This was a cross-sectional study of women who underwent FNA from January 2012 to June 2013 for breast lesions with benign ultrasonography impressions in Fortaleza, Brazil. Two groups were formed. The first was composed of 102 samples subjected to CS and the second of 65 samples subjected to SP. The number of smears, the cellularity and the diagnostic hypotheses were compared. Fisher's exact tests with 95% confidence intervals were applied. Results: The women ranged in age from 22 to 75 years. SP cytology indicated greater cellularity than CS for the cystic lesions (p < 0.05). In the CS group, 72.5% of the samples required 3-4 slides, but in the SP group, only 9.2% required a second slide. The cellularity of the cystic samples was significantly greater with the SP method (p < 0.01). Conclusion: In FNA cytology of the breast, SP is a tool that is comparable to CS, but with the added benefits of better cellularity results for cystic lesions and requiring fewer slides for analysis.