The value of needle aspiration cytology of the breast, with an emphasis on the diagnosis of breast disease in young women below the age of 30.

Our experience with 4,739 needle aspirations of the breast was reviewed, with an emphasis on the diagnosis of carcinoma in young women under the age of 30 years. Among benign diseases, fibroadenomas were most frequently seen in younger women (24.3% of 919 cases) while cysts were most frequently seen in women 30 years of age and older (20.0%). Fibrocystic conditions were identified in approximately 30% of the women in each group. All younger women with suspicious diagnoses had fibrocystic disease at biopsy; in older women, 75% of the suspicious cases proved to be carcinomas while 25% proved to be fibrocystic diseases. Carcinomas were diagnosed cytologically in 1.3% of younger women and in 9.7% of older women. In young women, in whom breast carcinoma is a rare disorder, it is important that carcinoma be diagnosed without delay so that an appropriate plan of management can be adopted. These findings suggest that needle aspiration cytology can accurately make that diagnosis.