The authors systematically reviewed the literature of the last decade on the role of cytology in theevaluation of musculoskeletal neoplasms, and its diagnostic accuracy. A search was carried out on the databases PubMed, MEDLINE, LILACS and SciELO, selecting articles in which cytology was used in the diagnosis of musculoskeletal neoplasms. Limits(Boolean operators?) were used for English, Spanish and Portuguese, and only articles published since2000 were selected. 757 articles were retrieved, 24 of which were selected based on criteria of inclusion and exclusion. It was concluded that although promising in the assessment of musculoskeletal neoplasms, cytology obtained by fine needle aspiration is less accurate and reliable than histological evaluation of such lesions.
Bone neoplasms; Sarcoma; Muscle, skeletal; Biopsy, needle
