FNAC diagnosis of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the maxillary sinus: A case report with emphasis on cytological differential diagnosis

Abstract

Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) has been employed with increasing frequency as a diagnostic tool for lesions of the major and minor salivary glands. The reported sensitivity and specificity of FNAC of salivary gland lesion ranges approximately between 60 and 100% and 90 and 100%, respectively. The major reason for varied statistics in diagnosis is due to its diverse morphological patterns and overlapping features that makes it a challenging job for pathologists to give a precise diagnosis. If established diagnostic criteria are present and strictly followed, a great majority of common variations of non-neoplastic lesions, benign and malignant salivary gland tumors can be diagnosed with high level of accuracy with FNAC. A patient with high operation risk may benefit from the information obtained by FNAC. We report a case of adenoid cystic carcinoma of maxillary sinus in a 46-year-old male patient diagnosed mainly through FNAC and also discuss the possible differential diagnosis and pitfalls of FNAC in diagnosing adenoid cystic carcinoma.