title: Fine-needle aspiration cytology of retroperitoneal lesions: a 5-year experience with an emphasis on cytohistological discrepancy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The retroperitoneal space contains various organs which can be affected by various non-neoplastic and neoplastic pathological processes. A diagnosis of these retroperitoneal lesions is often difficult. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) under image guidance is now becoming an effective tool for the initial evaluation of retroperitoneal lesions.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present study was undertaken to evaluate the role of ultrasound-guided FNAC in the diagnosis of retroperitoneal lesions in comparison to histopathology and to assess the probable causes of failure in cases of pitfalls in cytodiagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  During the study period of 5 years, a total of 104 cases of retroperitoneal lesions were aspirated under USG guidance. Seven cases yielded inadequate material, the remaining 97 cases were included in the study group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 97 cases, the kidney was the most common organ aspirated (27 cases; 27.8%). Malignant lesions (68 cases; 70.1%) were much more frequent than benign or non-neoplastic lesions (29 cases; 29.9%). Tuberculosis was the most common non-malignant lesion (14 cases) and renal cell carcinoma was the most frequent malignant lesion encountered (15 cases). In 5 cases (7.9%), the histological diagnosis showed inconsistent results in comparison to cytodiagnosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  USG-guided FNAC is a safe, rapid, relatively cheap and fairly accurate procedure for the assessment of retroperitoneal lesions.
authors: Department of Pathology, Bankura Sammilani Medical College, Bankura, India.
authors: Sanjay
authors: S
authors: Sengupta
authors: Subrata
authors: S
authors: Pal
authors: Biplab Kr
authors: BK
authors: Biswas
authors: Srabani
authors: S
authors: Chakrabarti
authors: Kingshuk
authors: K
authors: Bose
authors: Sritanu
authors: S
authors: Jana
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D061765:Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012186:Retroperitoneal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D012187:Retroperitoneal Space / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult