Comparison between histopathology and fine needle aspiration cytology in the case of breast lumps

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy fine needle aspiration cytology in cases of breast lump taking histopathology as gold standard. Methodology: This study was a comparative, observational study conducted at Multan Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy (MINAR) from January 2024 to December 2024. This study was evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in comparison to histopathology for the diagnosis of breast lumps. The results of FNAC and histopathology were recorded and compared. The statistical calculation was done using SPSS 24 version. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and overall diagnostic accuracy of FNAC were calculated using histopathology as the gold standard. Results: The study included 51 women with an average age of 45.94±9.58 years. Histopathology and fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) were used for diagnosis. FNAC diagnosed 100% as fibroadenoma, and histopathology confirmed all 28 cases, but 11.8% initially classified as fibroadenoma were later found to be malignant. FNAC correctly identified 88.2% as malignant, with all confirmed by histopathology. FNAC also diagnosed 100% as benign phyllodes, and all were confirmed by histopathology. Conclusion: FNAC is a reliable and fast diagnostic method for breast lumps. It has an 88.2% diagnostic accuracy for malignant and 100% for benign phyllodes. It is accurate with manageable complications. The procedure is outpatient-based, reducing hospital stays. Its quick turnaround makes it useful for early diagnosis.