Breast Fine-Needle Aspiration in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: First-Year Experience in the Ho Chi Minh City Cancer Center

Abstract: In the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. Prior to 1994, in certain regions of Vietnam, such as the South, the only diagnostic modalities for breast lesions were clinical examination and open surgical biopsy, a procedure prohibitively expensive for many women. In January 1994, two American cytopathologists conducted a 3-day breast fine needle aspiration (FNA) seminar at the Ho Chi Minh City Cancer Center, Ho Chi Minh City. After the seminar, 754 breast FNAs were performed from January 1994 to January 1995. The sensitivity and specificity of breast FNA were 96% and 83%, respectively, and there were nine false positive and seven false negative diagnoses. The overall diagnostic accuracy of breast FNA is within the range of previously reported accuracies, indicating that breast FNA can be learned quickly and practiced proficiently. A main role of breast FNA in Vietnam is in the diagnosis of high-stage, inoperable breast tumors. The relative af-fordability of breast FNA enables many women with breast lesions to undergo a diagnostic procedure. The introduction of inexpensive, diagnostically accurate procedures, such as breast FNA, may prove to be of great benefit in countries with scant medical resources.