LAUSR

Background: The tissue diagnosis of lymphoma and metastases is commonly obtained from affected lymph nodes. The lymph nodes chosen for biopsy are often the consequence of their appearance on ultrasound, which determines their risk of malignancy. Two frequently used percutaneous sampling techniques are core biopsy and fine needle aspiration (FNA). While core biopsy obtains a larger tissue sample and provides a degree of architectural information, FNA is considered less invasive and has the advantage of immediate confirmation of adequacy by the attending cytologist. Anecdotally, core biopsy is more commonly used when a lymph node is suspected of harboring neoplasia, however a feature of malignancy is hypercellularity, which theoretically should increase the diagnostic yield of FNA. Aim: The aim of this project was to compare the diagnostic capability of FNA and core biopsy in lymph nodes of different malignant potential, as defined by ultrasound, and determine if the radiologic appearance can guide clinicia...