Fine needle Aspiration Cytology: Diagnostic Efficacy in Malignant Breast Lesions

Background: A palpable breast lump is a common problem encountered by both the general practitioner and the surgeon. FNAC is a rapid, simple, efficient and safe method for diagnosis of palpable breast lumps. It is very useful as a pre-operative diagnostic tool.The study was carried out to diagnose palpable lumps by cytology and to confirm them with histopathologic study wherever possible. Taking histopathology as the gold standard, the sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of FNAC in all cases diagnosed as malignant by cytology were obtained. Methods: FNAC was performed in all patients who presented with a palpable breast lump & the cytological findings were recorded. Subsequent histopathologic study was done wherever possible on all cases reported as malignant or suspicious for malignancy on cytology. Result: A correlation of 97.67% was obtained in malignant lesions of the breast. Sensitivity was 100%; specificity and diagnostic accuracy were 97.67% each. Conclusion: FNAC as a diagnostic modality for palpable breast lumps is a very efficient, rapid, safe and inexpensive method. In spite of its limitations, FNAC offers a high rate of sensitivity and specificity which makes it a valuable tool for the preliminary diagnosis and management of breast lumps.DOI: 10.21276/APALM.1662