Aspiration biopsy cytology (ABC). its use in diagnosis of lesions of the prostate gland.
Aspiration biopsy cytology (ABC) specimens were obtained from 540 patients by transrectal biopsy because of suspicious lesions or metastases from occult carcinoma. Although poorly differentiated prostatic carcinoma had previously presented few diagnostic problems by ABC, cells from well-differentiated adenocarcinoma had been diagnosed with a low degree of accuracy. To improve recognition of tumor cells, earlier specimens that had yielded false-negative results were rescreened and additional diagnostic criteria observed. By means of these newly supplemented criteria of malignancy, a positive diagnosis was made in 92% of our 40 most recently verified malignant neoplasms, in contrast with 78% in a previous study. Aspirates from 55 men with treated carcinoma were examined for recurrence. Clinical and ABC findings were correlated. Although glands palpated as minuscule or very large correlated precisely with absence or presence of recurrence, in the rest both size and firmness were not necessarily proportional to tumor activity. Thus, fine-needle biopsy has permitted the addition of an accurate, simple study for early evaluation of the recurrence of malignant neoplasm.