Value of Combined Cytology and Molecular Information in the Diagnosis of Soft Tissue Tumors

The diagnosis of a soft tissue tumor (STT) is a complex process that requires a multidisciplinary team consisting of a medical oncologist, a radiologist, a pathologist, and a molecular biologist. The combination of this information gives highly accurate results. Fine-needle aspiration in this setting is one of the most performed techniques for obtaining, in a noninvasive way, optimal material for morphological, immunohistochemical, and molecular purposes. On the other hand, an accurate tumor diagnosis is a dynamic process, as evidenced by the constant modifications of international putative classifications, which are more and more based on molecular aberrations (2013 World Health Organization classification). In the future, STT classification will certainly be a hybrid of morphology and molecular data and, consequently, will be very useful for cytology. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2015;123:141-151. (c) 2014 American Cancer Society. Fine-needle aspiration in soft tissue tumors is one of the most performed techniques for obtaining, in a noninvasive way, optimal material for morphological, immunohistochemical, and molecular purposes.