Background and purpose: With the development of the means of preoperative diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer

fine needle puncture no longer seems to be popular with the clinical use. The safety and effectiveness of fine needle aspiration as preoperative diagnosis of breast cancer are controversial. This study was aimed to investigate the application of fine needle aspiration (FNA) of breast cancer and association between FNA and recurrence and metastasis for 30 years in our hospital. Methods: A total number of 1 260 patients with breast cancer treated in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 1975 to 2006 were reviewed in two groups for clinical characters

recurrence

and survival rate. The two groups were FNA and non-FNA. Results: The positive rate of FNA was 61.4% and the highest rate was in Ⅳ stage (100%). Stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ were the major ones in FNA group (45.2%). The local recurrence (7.0% vs 6.4%)

recurrence and metastasis (13.2% vs 14.0%)

5-year (82.0% vs 81.0%) and 10-year disease free survival rates (51.0% vs 64.0%) have no significant difference between FNA and non-FNA groups. Conclusion: FNA is still one of the most important methods for preoperative investigation of breast cancer.