Cytohistological Correlation of Palpable Breast Lesions in a Tertiary Care Centre – A Retrospective Study

Background: Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death from cancer among women. WHO reported that around 1lakh new cases of carcinoma breast are diagnosed every year in India and about 70,218 deaths due to breast cancer was estimated in Indian women every year. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment plays an important role in decreasing the mortality due to breast cancer. Presenting complaint in majority of the cases is a palpable lump in the breast. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a simple, fast, inexpensive method and reliable. It is being used as a first line procedure for diagnosing breast lesions

Aim: This study is aimed to examine the cytological features of FNAC done on palpable breast lesions and to correlate the results of these breast FNAC with the corresponding tissue biopsy reports. Thereby we are determining the accuracy of reporting FNAC breast lesions in our hospital.

Material and Methods: This is a 1-year retrospective study of breast lumps seen in Department of Pathology, Saveetha Medical College, Chennai. All patients who had FNAC of breast lumps with subsequent histological confirmation over this period are included in this study. Cytological diagnosis was categorized as benign, inflammatory, suspicious for malignancy, positive for malignancy and inadequate and compared with histopathological diagnosis for correlation. Statistical analysis was done to test sensitivity specificity, positive predictive value and accuracy.

Results: This is a 1-year retrospective study of breast lumps seen in Department of Pathology, Saveetha Medical College, Chennai. All patients who had FNAC of breast lumps with subsequent histological confirmation over this period are included in this study. Cytological diagnosis were categorized as benign, inflammatory, suspicious for malignancy, positive for malignancy and inadequate and compared with histopathological diagnosis for correlation. Statistical analysis was done to test sensitivity specificity, positive predictive value and accuracy

Conclusion: FNAC is a quicker, easier, inexpensive, safe and readily acceptable procedure. Though definitive specific diagnosis may not be possible by cytology, but it can be categorized and differential diagnosis can be derived. So, to conclude, Aspiration cytology can be done as a first line procedure but cannot be considered as a substitute for histopathology.