A Correlative Cytological and Histopathological Study of Lesions of Salivary Gland

Salivary glands are unique amongst the secretory glands, with most heterogenous group of tumors, exhibiting greatest histological diversity. Objective The aim of the study was to statistically evaluate the incidence of salivary gland lesions in and around Madurai. To assess the usefulness of cytological study in the diagnosis of salivary gland lesions and to evaluate the accuracy of FNAC studies in correlation with histopathological study. Study design, cross sectional study. Specimens from patients presented with symptoms and signs of salivary gland enlargement (unilateral or bilateral) of Rajaji Hospital, Madurai Medical College, Madurai were included in the study. FNAC was performed in 97 cases, among them, 48 cases had post surgical histopathological correlation. The overall diagnostic accuracy of fine needle aspiration cytology in diagnosing salivary lesions was found to be 86.36 %. FNA is a simple, rapid and sensitive technique for the diagnosis of salivary gland lesions. It is a difficult area for the cytopathologist, due to great variety of benign and malignant neoplasms occurring in this site. Sufficiently high accuracy can be achieved by FNA study and this can be a useful guide in making decisions for further management in patients with salivary gland lesions