Diagnostic Value of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) in Salivary Gland Tumors

Abstract

Introduction Salivary gland tumors represent the most complex and diverse group of tumors encountered in the head and neck region. The diagnosis of these tumors is challenging and the histological examination in the form of incisional biopsy is the standard preoperative diagnostic method, but for major salivary glands this technique harbors the potential for facial scar, facial nerve injury, development of fstula and tumor cells spillage. This is why it is restricted to the minor gland pathology It is restricted to the minor gland pathology. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), on the other hand, does not have such complications and therefore it is more accepted and preferable as a preoperative diagnostic method. Aim Assessment of diagnostic value of fne needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in salivary gland tumors. Patients and Methods Twenty patients were involved; FNAC was performed. The study was conducted in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Alshaheed Ghazi Alhareery for Specialized Surgeries Hospital at Medical City_ Baghdad, in the period from November 2015 to November 2016. FNAC was performed as preoperative diagnostic toolResults There was no signifcant difference between benign and malignant salivary gland tumors in terms of patients’ age and gender. The majority of tumors were in the parotid and minor salivary glands in the palate respectively. The malignant tumors showed higher prevalence, Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma followed by Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma were the most common malignant tumors while Pleomorphic Adenoma was the most common benign tumor. The values of FNAC Accuracy, Sensitivity, Specifcity, Positive predictive value (PPV) and Negative predictive value (NPV) were: 85%, 84.62%, 85.71%, 91.7% and 75% respectively. Conclusions FNAC has a reasonable reliability in differentiating benign and malignant salivary gland tumors with accepted level of accuracy, sensitivity, specifcity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value. The high positive predictive value of FNAC in this study indicates the good reliability to confrm the malignancy.