Hits and misses in diagnosis of thyroid lesions – Cytohistological correlation

Background: Fine needle aspiration of thyroid neoplasm is cost effective procedure to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions in most of the cases. Aim: To evaluate the accuracy of FNAC in diagnosis of different thyroid lesions, particularly differentiation of malignant and non malignant lesions. Materials and methods: Study comprised of 220 cases of thyroid FNAC's which were followed by excision biopsy. Their FNAC's diagnosis was compared with histopathological diagnosis. Results: Among 220 cases of FNAC's 151 was diagnosed as benign (68.63%), 58 cases as malignant (26.36%) and 11 case as follicular neoplasms (5.0%). Colloid goitre represented the majority of benign cases while papillary carcinoma was the most frequent malignant lesion. Cytological findings were compared with their corresponding histopathological findings. Conclusion: Benign and malignant thyroid lesions can be differentiate accurately by FNAC however certain pitfalls should be kept in mind.