The role of fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of soft tissue lesions

Abstract EN

Background &Objectives : Preoperative diagnosis and classification of soft tissue tumors is important in the planning of treatment.

Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) has gained a wider application and is being used to diagnose tumors of almost any organ.

The present study aims to assess the value of FNAC in the diagnosis of soft tissue lesions.

Methods: During a one year period starting in October 2000, FNAC was done on 77patients who presented with soft tissue lesions.

The aspirated materials were smeared on glass slides, fixed in 95% ethanol and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) or Papanicolaou stain.

In 39 out of the 77 cases, open biopsies were performed.

The results were statistically analysed.

Resulis: The male to female ratio was 1:1.3.

The ages ranged from 8 months to 80 years with a mean age of 35.4 years.

Most cases were in the fourth decade of life; however, malignant cytological results were more frequent in the sixth and seventh decades.

The lower extremities were the most frequent aspiration site (32 cases, 41.5%), followed by the upper extremities (21 cases, 27.3%), the trunk (15 cases 19.5%), and the head and neck (9 cases 11.7%).

Diagnoses were malignant in 16 cases (20.8%) including 11 primary malignant and 5 metastatic tumors.

Benign results were found in 50 cases (64.9%).

Suspicious results were found in 2 cases (2.6%) and unsatisfactory results were found in 9 cases (11.7%).

Statistical analysis showed a sensitivity of 83.3%, specificity of 100%, and an overall accuracy of 96.9%.

Conclusion: It is concluded that FNAC is a simple, safe and relatively accurate procedure for differentiating benign from malignant soft tissue lesions.

However, specific diagnosis and grading are often difficult to determine, so it must regarded as an ancillary procedure rather than a substitute for open tissue biopsy.