Abstract
We have examined the diagnostic accuracy and usefulness of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) for parotid tumors. Forty-nine patients received preoperative FNAC and surgery between August 2008 and May 2012 at Tokyo Medical University Hachioji Medical Center. Twenty-six were males and 23 were females with a mean age of 60.7 yr. FNAC was performed with a 21G needle under ultrasonography. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of a benign or malignant diagnosis were 90%, 97%, 90%, 97% and 96%, respectively. Preoperatively, 39 lesions were diagnosed as benign: 23 pleomorphic adenomas, 7 Warthin’s tumors, 1 basal cell adenoma and 8 others. One of the 23 diagnosed as a pleomorphic adenoma turned out to be salivary duct carcinoma. Preoperatively, 10 were diagnosed as malignant: 2 salivary duct carcinomas, 2 squamous cell carcinomas, 1 acinic cell carcinoma, 1 mucoepidermoid cell carcinoma, 3 adenocarcinomas and 1 lymphoepithelial carcinoma. One patient diagnosed as having lymphoepithelial carcinoma turned out to have a Warthin’s tumor. FNAC is useful for preoperative diagnosis and therapeutic planning for parotid gland tumors.
