Cytohistopathological Study of Salivary Gland Lesions with Emphasis on Diagnotic Pitfalls of Fna.

Abstract

Introduction: Salivary gland tumours account for 2-6.5% of all the neoplasms of the head and neck. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is being increasingly used for the diagnosis of salivary gland tumours.

Objectives: The main aim of this study was to evaluate cytohistological correlation of salivary gland tumors and to identify the causes of diagnostic discrepancies and pitfalls of FNA in correlation with their histopathology.

Methods: A total of 95 FNACs were done on salivary gland tumours from January 2023 to January 2025 at the Department of Pathology, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, Mysore. These cases were followed up with histopathology. Formalin fixed (10%), surgically resected specimens were received, they were processed and slides were prepared. The stained cytological and histopathological slides were studied, analyzed and correlated.  

Results: The cytomorphological features were studied and analyzed and the following lesions were observed: Sialadenosis (8), Pleomorphic adenomas (35), Basal cell adenomas (15), Warthin’s tumours (15), Myoepithelioma (8), Cystic lesions (5), Mucoepidermoid carcinomas (3), Adenoid cystic carcinomas (6). Histopathological correlation was done. Out of these, 9 cases were true positives, 5 were false negatives, 81 were true negatives and  there were no false positives.

Conclusions: FNAC demonstrated an overall sensitivity of 81.8%, specificity of 100%, and diagnostic accuracy of 94% for distinguishing benign from malignant cases. This study documents the pitfalls of FNAC in salivary gland lesions and underscores key considerations to enhance accuracy and minimize errors in cytological interpretation.