The use of needle washing in axillary node fine needle aspiration cytology increases accuracy and sensitivity with a resultant reduction in unnecessary sentinel node biopsy

Abstract

Introduction: Both NICE and ABS at BASO recommend the use of pre-operative axillary ultrasound scan (A-USS) and biopsy, as appropriate, in the treatment of patients with invasive breast cancer. The use of needle washings to enhance cellularity of lymph node biopsy samples is routinely used across many areas of medicine. We assessed the efficacy of fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and the introduction of additional needle washings in pre-operative identification of the metastatic axilla.