title: Cytomorphology of palpable breast lesions: Diagnostic utility of FNAC in a developing country.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Breast lesions including breast cancer represent a major public health issue in Sudan. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is an established, simple, highly accurate, minimally invasive, and cost-effective method of diagnosing most breast lesions. The aim of this study is to document the most common breast conditions diagnosed by means of FNAC over a two-year period in Atbara, a city in north Sudan.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional, laboratory-based study in which records of all palpable breast lesions diagnosed by FNAC in the years 2012 and 2013 were reviewed and analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total number of cases studied was 232; most subjects, 222 (95.7%), were females. The age range was 15-90 years (mean 38.2). Painless lump was the most common 190 (81.9%) clinical presentation. The left breast was affected more often than the right breast, 56.0% vs. 40.5%. Benign conditions were 167 (72%). Malignant neoplasms were 65 (28.0%). The most important associations with malignancy were female sex, age above 35 years, multiparity, painless lump at upper outer quadrant of left breast, lump size above 2 cm and the presence of an enlarged ipsilateral axillary lymph node at presentation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the northern part of Sudan, the prevalence of malignant breast lesions diagnosed by FNAC is more than one fourth of all cases presenting with palpable breast lumps. FNAC is a technique that is ideal for use in resource-limited health settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Nile Valley University, Atbara, Sudan.
authors.forename: Wadie M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Elmadhoun
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medical Sciences and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan.
authors.forename: Ahmed O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Almobarak
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Najran University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdelrahman M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Nile Valley University, Atbara, Sudan.
authors.forename: Sarra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bushara
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Nile Valley University, Atbara, Sudan.
authors.forename: Sufian K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Noor
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Omdurman Islamic University, Khartoum, Sudan.
authors.forename: Nazik Elmalaika O S
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Husain
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mohamed H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Ahmed
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle / Q000379:methods*; D001940:Breast / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003581:Cytodiagnosis; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010173:Palpation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013397:Sudan; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Atbara; FNAC; Sudan; breast; cytology