Tumor Aspiration

Abstract

In the last few years, aspiration cytology has made considerable progress in the diagnosis of solid tumors, without however attaining the degree of certainty obtained by histology. Thus it cannot substitute exploratory excision and histologic examination of the material. If the examined tumor is a metastasis, the cytologic picture hardly ever gives a lead to the primary tumor. The advantage of tumor puncture, as that of lymph nodes, is that it can be performed quickly and without much technical expenditure. The preparation is soon ready for microscopic examination after panoptic staining.