Fine needle aspiration cytology as a diagnostic tool in breast lumps

Introduction: Breast lesions are a challenge not only for Pathologists but also for Surgeons. The complexity of breast structure and the physiological changes it undergoes at various stages of a female’s life makes it a unique organ for histopathological studies. The number of deaths with breast carcinoma are alarmingly increasing over recent times. Aims and Objective: To Study the diagnostic efficacy of Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of palpable lesions of breast along with the morphologic spectrum of lesions in breast on cytology. Materials and Methods: The study period was from May 2016 to June 2017. All the cases which came to Cytology Unit of Pathology Department with palpable lump/mass in breast were included in the study. Subsequently these cases were subjected to surgical excision. Results: Out of 120 patients, 110 were benign (90%) and 10 cases were malignant (10%). Out of 100 cases which were reported as benign 96 cases proved the same diagnosis on histopathology whereas four cases turned out to be malignant on histopathological examination. Most cases which were reported as malignant on FNAC showed malignant features on histopathology too.