Diagnostic accuracy of fine-needle aspiration biopsy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

The present study was undertaken to investigate the diagnostic usefulness of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) in a large series of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) seen over a 1-year period. During 1986, ultrasonographically guided percutaneous FNAB was performed in 72 patients with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Digestive diseases and sciences 1989-11, Vol.34 (11), p.1765-1769
Main Authors: BRU, C, MAROTO, A, BRUIX, J, FAUS, R, BIANCHI, L, CALVET, X, AYUSO, C, VILANA, R, GILABERT, R, RODES, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Biological and medical sciences
Biopsy, Needle - methods
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - pathology
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Female
Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen
Humans
Liver Neoplasms - pathology
Liver Neoplasms - ultrastructure
Liver. Biliary tract. Portal circulation. Exocrine pancreas
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Predictive Value of Tests
Tumors
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Summary:The present study was undertaken to investigate the diagnostic usefulness of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) in a large series of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) seen over a 1-year period. During 1986, ultrasonographically guided percutaneous FNAB was performed in 72 patients with suspected HCC. A final diagnosis of HCC was made in 58 patients. The presence or absence of HCC was ascertained by histological examination and/or by other diagnostic procedures (alpha 1-fetoprotein, computed tomography, arteriography) and by clinical follow-up (repeated ultrasonographic controls) and/or by surgery or necropsy. A total of 61 FNABs were carried out in these 58 patients. Only 42 (69%) of the 61 FNABs allowed the diagnosis of HCC. This moderate diagnostic sensitivity was not related to tumor size. Only one false positive result was observed in the non-HCC group. Therefore, the diagnostic specificity of FNAB for HCC was 93%, with a positive predictive value of 97% and a negative predictive value of 40%. These results show that FNAB is a useful diagnostic technique in patients with HCC. However, these data also show that there is a large proportion (31%) of subjects with false negative results. Therefore, we suggest that further efforts should be made to improve the diagnostic accuracy of this procedure.
ISSN:0163-2116
1573-2568
DOI:10.1007/BF01540056