Diagnostic Accuracy of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology in Benign and Malignant Breast Lesions

Abstract

Background: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) or core biopsy form an integral component of the triple test which is being performed as a pre-operative test to evaluate breast lump. Aim: To study the cytomorphological pattern of breast lesions in a tertiary care hospital of Central India and to find out the accuracy of FNAC in diagnosing benign and malignant lesions of breast. Method: 200 patients presenting as breast lumps were evaluated by FNAC and correlated with histology. Result: Fibroadenoma was most common benign lesion while Infiltrating duct carcinoma was most common malignant lesion reported. Sensitivity of FNAC was 99.25% for benign lesions and 95% for malignant lesions. Specificity and PPV of FNAC in diagnosing benign lesions were 95% and 97.79% respectively while that for malignant cases were 99.25% and 98.27% respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of FNAC was 97.94% in the present study. Conclusion: FNAC serves as a rapid, economical and reliable tool for the evaluation of breast lumps. Key words: Fine needle aspiration cytology, Benign breast lesions, Malignant breast lesions, FNAC