Role of fine needle aspiration cytology in effective management of patients with breast lesions and histopathological correlation

Introduction: Increased incidence of breast cancer has evoked profound interest in benign breast lesions, since certain benign lesions show malignant transformation. Main objective of FNAC is to diagnose malignant lesions that require surgical excision from benign ones. Aims and Objectives: The present study was carried out to know the scope of FNAC in accurately diagnosing various breast lesions and its role in effective management of patients. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted from September 2011 to Sept 2013 over duration of 24 months. 155 patients with breast lesions were subjected for FNAC and correlated with histopathological examination in 52 cases. Results: Out of 155 FNACs done, cytohistopathological discordance was noted in 3 cases. An occasional false negative and false positive in disease were noted. Overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive value were 93.1%, 97.1%, 96.4%, and 94.4% respectively. Conclusion: The accuracy of FNAC when combined with clinical examination and radiology is notably high. Since the majority of patients have benign disease, a rapid diagnosis and discharge is beneficial. The present study concluded that accuracy of FNAC in diagnosing various breast lesions is high however an occasional false negative and false positive cases makes it necessary to biopsy before mastectomy in cases where clinical, cytological and radiological diagnosis do not concur.