Diagnostic yield of a one-stop neck lump clinic

Diagnostic clinics for patients with neck lumps were established across the UK in response to NICE guidance on cancer services. The guidance stated that a surgeon and a cytopathologist among its other key recommendations should staff each clinic. The aim of this study was to establish the diagnostic yield of this clinic at Wolverhampton. A prospective cohort study was conducted of patients attending a one-stop neck lump clinic over a period of 30 months. Patients' characteristics, diagnostic tests and outcomes were recorded and the data analysed. Of 333 patients, n = 65 (20 %) had no lump, n = 214 (64 %) had a benign lump and n = 54 (16 %) had a malignant lump. Older age of patients and a history of smoking were found to be significantly higher when a malignant lump was diagnosed when compared with a benign lump. In the benign lump group, freehand FNAC had an accuracy of 87 % (n = 48/55), while USS-guided FNAC had an accuracy of 74 % (n = 32/43). Diagnosis was confirmed on the same day for the majority of patients (n = 178, 84 %). In the malignant lump group, freehand FNAC had an accuracy of 82 % (n = 28/34), while USS-guided FNAC had an accuracy of 81 % (n = 17/21). Diagnosis on the same day was confirmed for 74 % of the patients (n = 40). The clinic in our unit achieved an overall diagnostic yield of 84 %. Outcomes regarding age, sex, smoking, size and site of neck lumps and accuracy of FNAC were in line with published data. The study showed that this one-stop neck lump clinic was better at excluding malignancy than diagnosing it.