Fine‐needle aspiration of parotid masses

Abstract Background . There is controversy concerning the utility of fine‐needle aspiration in diagnosing parotid masses. Even studies on large series of patients have compared aspiration findings with the histology in much fewer cases. Methods . Preoperative fine‐needle aspiration findings were compared with the histopathologic diagnoses from surgically resected specimens in 246 patients presenting with and treated for parotid mass from 1980–1990. Results . Of 173 benign tumors, 159 (91.9%) were diagnosed correctly and 110 of 144 (> 60%) were typed. Of 36 malignant tumors, malignancy was recognized in 22 cases (61.1%). There were nine false‐negatives, and in five cases, the specimen was unsatisfactory. The four cases of metastatic disease were correctly typed. Only two of seven lymphomas (28.6%) were identified. The cytologic and histologic diagnoses were concordant in all cases of nonneoplastic disease. Overall accuracy was 87%. Conclusions . Fine‐needle aspiration speeds up the diagnostic process and, with close cooperation between clinician and pathologist, the technique is a valuable adjunct to preoperative assessment in patients with parotid masses.