Analysing false negatives and false positives in cytopathology of breast masses along with cytohistopathological correlation

Introduction: Carcinoma of the breast is the leading cause of death in women due to malignancy. Approximately 1,000,000 cases occur worldwide annually. Evaluation of the breast masses is of utmost important for its timely management. Fine needle aspiration cytology is a simple and reliable diagnostic method. The present study aim ED to determine the diagnostic efficacy of the fine needle aspiration cytology along with evaluating the causes of false negative and false positive in breast cytology. Materials and Methods: The present retrospective study was conducted in G K General Hospital, Bhuj for a period of one year. Cases in which follow up histopathology was available were only included in the present study. A total 52 cases were included in the study. Results: Fine needle aspiration cytology findings and histopathology diagnoses were correlated. Statistical analysis was done. Out of the 52 cases, only one false positive and one false negative case was found. Hence, the sensitivity of the study was 98% and the positive predictive value was also 98%. Conclusion: Fine needle aspiration cytology is a reliable diagnostic method to evaluate the breast masses. A high sensitivity and a high positive predictive value proved that a positive fine needle aspiration cytology in the breast correlates very well with the corresponding final histopathology reports.