Fine-needle aspiration of parotid masses.
BACKGROUND
There is controversy concerning the utility of fine-needle aspiration in diagnosing parotid masses. Even studies on large series of patients have compared aspiration findings with the histology in much fewer cases.


METHODS
Preoperative fine-needle aspiration findings were compared with the histopathologic diagnoses from surgically resected specimens in 246 patients presenting with and treated for parotid mass from 1980-1990.


RESULTS
Of 173 benign tumors, 159 (91.9%) were diagnosed correctly and 110 of 144 (> 60%) were typed. Of 36 malignant tumors, malignancy was recognized in 22 cases (61.1%). There were nine false-negatives, and in five cases, the specimen was unsatisfactory. The four cases of metastatic disease were correctly typed. Only two of seven lymphomas (28.6%) were identified. The cytologic and histologic diagnoses were concordant in all cases of nonneoplastic disease. Overall accuracy was 87%.


CONCLUSIONS
Fine-needle aspiration speeds up the diagnostic process and, with close cooperation between clinician and pathologist, the technique is a valuable adjunct to preoperative assessment in patients with parotid masses.
Zurrida
S
S
Division of Surgical Oncology B, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milano, Italy.
Alasio
L
L
Tradati
N
N
Bartoli
C
C
Chiesa
F
F
Pilotti
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002648:Child; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010305:Parotid Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D010306:Parotid Gland / Q000473:pathology*; D010307:Parotid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests