Abstract
Diseases of the skin and superficial subcutaneous soft tissues present with a wide array of lesions ranging from nonspecific dermatoses and inflammatory lesions to frank neoplasms. Though cytopathology is an excellent diagnostic tool in routine dermatologic practice, studies relating to histopathological and cytological correlation are sparse. The aim of this study was to analyze the concordance rate between cytological and histopathological diagnosis of skin and superficial soft tissue lesions. We retrospectively studied 510 consecutive fine needle aspiration cytology findings of cases from North Bengal Medical College and Hospital and correlated their diagnoses based upon cytological and histopathological grounds. Out of the 510 cases studied, 253 were non neoplastic lesions and 257 were neoplastic. A high degree of concordance was observed (100% for malignant and 96.15% for benign lesions) when these two diagnostic modalities were compared. Histopathological correlation was possible in all malignant, 52/189 (27.51%) of benign and 27/253 (10.67%) of non-neoplastic lesions. Sensitivity and specificity of diagnoses were 95.31% and 97.6%, respectively. It can be safely concluded that fine needle aspiration cytology is a rapid, reliable and fairly accurate tool for initial triage and treatment of skin and superficial soft tissue lesions.
Highlights
It can be safely concluded that fine needle aspiration cytology is a rapid, reliable and fairly accurate tool for initial triage and treatment of skin and superficial soft tissue lesions
Various types of diseases are encountered in the skin and superficial soft tissues of the subcutis, ranging from nonspecific dermatoses and inflammatory processes to neoplastic conditions
The common difficulties encountered in cytological diagnosis of primary soft tissue neoplasms are their overlapping cytomorphological features, heterogeneity in some of the mass lesions and the increased recognition of borderline lesions [2]
Summary
Various types of diseases are encountered in the skin and superficial soft tissues of the subcutis, ranging from nonspecific dermatoses and inflammatory processes to neoplastic conditions. The common difficulties encountered in cytological diagnosis of primary soft tissue neoplasms are their overlapping cytomorphological features, heterogeneity in some of the mass lesions and the increased recognition of borderline (intermediate) lesions [2]. BHOWMIK A et al: Cytology in Skin Lesions. A total of 510 patients who underwent fine needle aspiration (FNA) for evaluation of various skin and superficial soft tissue lesions during the time period from July 2011 to February 2013 were included in the study. FNA was performed for diagnosis in all cases. Excisional, incisional and punch biopsies were done for histopathological examination in 78.23%, 7.48% and 14.29% of the patients, respectively.
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