FINE NEEDLE ASPIRATION BIOPSY AND CYTOLOGY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF BREAST LUMPS

One hundred female patients with breast lump underwent FNA of the lump followed by open biopsy for comparison in female surgical "B" Ward of Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar. This study was conducted from July 1997 to June 1999. The age range was 15-70 years. Majority was in their third decade of life. The vast majority had unilateral disease while 6 had bilateral lumps. The lump size was 1 to 2 cms in 80% of patients. Out of 20 malignant histologies on paraffin section, FNA picked 16 correctly, 2 were misdiagnosed as benign making false negative to be 10%, and 2 ware suspicious. Out of 80 benign histologies the FNA was correct in 66 cases, where misdiagnosed as suspicious or unsatisfactory in 4 and 10 cases respectively.