Cytological spectrum of malignant lesions of lymph node

Background: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a safe, simple, non-invasive and inexpensive procedure for diagnosing the lesions of lymph nodes. It helps in the diagnosis of benign, infectious lesions as well as malignant lesions. It not only confirms or excludes metastasis in a case of a known primary malignancy but, also, helps to detect occult primary malignancy. Aim of the present study was to determine the frequency of malignant lesions of lymph nodes in FNAC. Methods: Retrospective study included all cervical lymph node lesions reported on FNAC, in the department of pathology, NSCB Medical College, Jabalpur from January 2023 to June 2024 (18 months). Results: Total cases of 414 lymph node aspiration were done, of which 78 cases (18.84%) were positive for malignancy. Among malignant lesion metastasis was the predominant lesion. Majority of cases were seen in 51-60 years age group with male predominance and male: female ratio was 6.1:1. The most common metastasis was from squamous cell carcinoma which was reported in 65 cases (84%), followed by 4 cases of adenocarcinoma and malignancy of epithelial origin each. One case each of metastasis from papillary carcinoma thyroid, anaplastic carcinoma thyroid and malignant melanoma was reported. In two cases cytological diagnosis of lymphoma (NHL) was made. Conclusions: FNAC gives early and accurate results with minimal invasion and reduces the need for surgical biopsies, thus saves cost and time to reach the final diagnosis. It is concluded that FNAC is a useful tool in diagnosing malignant lesions of lymph nodes with a good certainty.