Comparison between histopathology and fine needle aspiration cytology in the case of breast lumps

Background: Breast lump is one of the common pathologies seen in surgical practice. Hence it is of importance to have a reliable diagnostic method to distinguish between benign and malignant lumps. Aim of this study was to bring out fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) as a rapid, inexpensive, accurate and least invasive diagnostic method for this purpose.Methods: A prospective study conducted between December 2017 to November 2018 on all 30 patients admitted at Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital with breast lumps. Patients were subjected to clinical examination FNAC and Histopathology.Results: Clinically 64% were categorized as benign lumps and 36% malignant. On FNAC 64% were fibroadenoma, 30% suggestive of malignancy and 6% suspicious of malignancy. On Histopathology 60% were fibroadenoma, 33% turned out to be carcinoma and 7% benign phyllodes. 4% of benign lesions on FNAC turned out malignant on histopathology.Conclusions: Although son mammography is the conventional approach with a sensitivity of 76.5% and specificity of 90.48%, in this study FNAC was found to have sensitivity of 96.6% and specificity of 100% and can be a reliable tool for early diagnosis in the case of breast lumps.