Ultraschall in der Medizin : Organ der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Ultraschall in der Medizin, [der] Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Ultraschall in der Medizin, [der] Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Ultraschall in Medizin und Biologie
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Tumour cells appear spontaneously in the blood of tumour patients. However, the formation of metastases depends not only on the number of tumour cells, but also to a large degree on the defence status of the patient. According to the experiments presented here, fine needle puncture can slightly increase tumour cell migration. ⋯ The incidence of metastases in the puncture channel after fine needle biopsy of tumours of various organs is between 0.003 and 0.005% and is hence low. Nevertheless, indication for fine needle puncture of malignant processes should be considered very critically. However, if the use of the puncture leads one to expect therapeutic consequences that are of relevance for the patient, the doctor should not hesitate to employ this method which has a high informative value.