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Fine‐needle aspiration cytology of tongue swellings: A study of 75 cases
Author(s) -
Domanski Henryk A.,
Åkerman Måns
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
diagnostic cytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1097-0339
pISSN - 8755-1039
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0339(199806)18:6<387::aid-dc1>3.0.co;2-6
Subject(s) - medicine , malignancy , tongue , fine needle aspiration , biopsy , fine needle aspiration cytology , radiology , cytology , medical diagnosis , pathology
Tongue swellings and growths are traditionally evaluated by surgical biopsy. Most of them, however, are easily accessible by fine‐needle aspiration (FNA). We reviewed 75 lesions presenting as tongue swellings, which were examined by fine‐needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in our institutions over a period of 11 yr. The lesions included 17 malignant tumors: 12 cases of squamous carcinoma (SQC), 2 metastases, and 3 non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). In addition, 15 benign tumors and 43 nonneoplastic benign conditions were found. Thirteen of the 17 malignant lesions were diagnosed cytologically as malignant, 3 as suspicious for malignancy, and 1 as atypical, with biopsy recommended. There were no false‐positive diagnoses. There were no clinical complications resulting from FNA. We conclude that FNAC of the tongue permits rapid and reliable diagnosis, and we recommend this method as the first diagnostic step in the evaluation of tongue swellings. Diagn. Cytopathol. 1998;18:387–392. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.