Abstract
Background and Objectives: Differentiating benign from malignant tumors of parotid gland preoperatively is very important from the point of treatment planning. We design this study to evaluate the usefulness and accuracy of fine- needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in the diagnosis of parotid gland masses.
Materials and Methods: In a descriptive – case series study the results of FNAC of 124 parotid masses were analyzed and compared with corresponding histo pathological diagnosis.
Results: The cytological findings were nondiagnostic in 2 (1.6%), true- negative in 84 (67.7%), true- positive in 24 (19.4%), false- negative 13 (10.5%), and false- positive in 1 (0.8%) cases in detecting malignant tumors. The sensitivity and specificity in detecting malignant tumors were 64.8% and 98.8% respectively.
Conclusion: Fine- needle aspiration cytology is a valuable adjunct to preoperative assessment of parotid masses. Preoperative recognition of malignant tumors may help prepare both the surgeon and patient for an appropriate surgical procedure