FINE-NEEDLE ASPIRATION CYTOLOGY OF SALIVARY-GLAND LESIONS

247 salivary gland lesions were subjected to fine needle aspiration (F NA) cytology; 179 were designated as neoplastic lesions and 68 as non- neoplastic. Based on cytomorphologic features, the neoplastic and non- neoplastic lesions were subcategorised. All but 36 of the neoplastic l esions were subjected to histopathologic study. The overall diagnostic accuracy of FNA cytology for neoplastic lesions was 91%. The sensitiv ity rate for detecting malignant tumours was 87.8% and the specificity 98.0% There was 100% sensitivity for cytodiagnosis of benign tumours. The high sensitivity and specificity of cytodiagnosis makes FNA cytol ogy a valuable diagnostic modality in the evaluation of salivary gland lesions.