Effectivity of Touch Imprint Cytology of Core Needle Biopsy in Evaluation of Breast Lesions: A Study in Changing Trends of Rapid on Site Evaluation

Touch imprint cytology (TIC) of core needle biopsy specimen is an easy method of rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) which aids in the rapid diagnosis of breast lumps by cytological analysis. To evaluate the efficacy of touch imprint cytology in predicting the adequacy of needle core biopsy of breast lumps and its diagnostic accuracy for malignancy. This study was done in Burdwan Medical College over a period of two years on 80 patients who had presented with breast lumps and had given consent for core needle biopsy for diagnosis. Out of 80 cases, satisfactory materials on touch imprint were obtained in 79 cases. Only one case did not yield satisfactory material and hence was excluded from the analysis. A total of 43 cases were malignant, and 36 cases were either benign or inflammatory on core needle biopsy. Thirty-seven cases were accurately diagnosed as malignant by TIC, and 35 cases were accurately diagnosed as benign by TIC. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of TIC were 86.05%, 97.22%, 97.37%, and 85.36%, respectively, and the overall accuracy was 90%. TIC of core needle biopsy is a rapid, reliable, and accurate method for early cytological diagnosis of symptomatic breast lesions. It can be used routinely at the site of biopsy to evaluate the adequacy of materials obtained during core needle biopsy and to plan for further workup in case of malignant breast lesions.