Application of liquid-based preparation to fine needle aspiration cytology in breast cancer

OBJECTIVE: To examine the performance of liquid-based cytology (LBC) in breast cytology to confirm the diagnosis of carcinoma. STUDY DESIGN: Using cell clusters directly scratched from surgically removed tumor masses, we examined the immunocytochemistry, molecular biology and cytomorphology of the specimens. RESULTS: LBC was very useful for gene analysis and evaluating the immunocytochemistry. The cytologic features of LBC were slightly different from those ofa conventional aspiration cytology smear. CONCLUSION: LBC is a promising method for improving the standardization ofpreparations in breast cytology, although care should be taken to account for its characteristic cytologic features. The quantitative analysis of HER-2 mRNA correlated with the results of immunohistochemistry.