Fine-needle aspirations (FNA) were taken from 308 patients with palpable breast masses at the Kuwait Cancer Control Centre (KCCC) from January 1985 to December 1986. Thirty-five cases were diagnosed positive, 4 suspicious and 269 negative for malignant cells. Histological verification was obtained in 32 of the 35 positive cases, 2 of the 4 suspicious cases and 56 of the 269 negative cases. Three-year follow-up studies were conducted on 46 patients with negative cytology. Clinical impressions and mammographic diagnoses were compared with the results from the FNA. Only cases with histological verifications or with 3-year follow-up studies were analyzed. During this study, FNA had a specificity of 100% while physical examination and mammography had ‘complete’ specificities of 94.4 and 90%, respectively. ‘Complete’ sensitivities of 97.1% for FNA, 96.8% for physical examination and 93.3% for mammography were r