title: Accuracy, Sensitivity and Specificity of Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy for Salivary Gland Tumors: A Retrospective Study from 2006 to 2011
abstract: Objective: This article concerns evaluation of the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of FNAB for pre-surgical
  diagnosis of benign and malignant lesions of major and minor salivary glands of patients treated in the Department of
  Head and Neck Surgery of Erasto Gartner Hospital. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed medical records from
  January 2006 to December 2011 from patients with salivary gland lesions who underwent preoperative FNAB and,
  after surgical excision of the lesion, histopathological examination. Results: The study had a cohort of 130 cases, but
  34 cases (26.2%) were considered unsatisfactory regarding cytology analyses. Based on the data, sensitivity was 66.7%
  (6/9), specificity was 81.6% (71/87), accuracy was 80.2% (77/96), the positive predictive value was 66,7% (6/9) and
  the negative predictive value was 81.6% (71/87). Conclusion: Despite the high rate of inadequate samples obtained
  in the FNAB in this study the technique offers high specificity, accuracy and acceptable sensitivity.
authors.affiliation: Erasto Gaertner Hospital, Curitiba, Brazil. Email: william_phillip@hotmail.com
authors.forename: William P P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Roberta T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Stramandinoli-Zanicotti
authors.forename: Juliana L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Schussel
authors.forename: Gyl H A
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: Sergio O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Ioshi
authors.forename: Laurindo M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Sassi
keywords: Salivary Gland Tumor; fine-needle aspiration; sensitivity; accuracy; specificity