Fine needle aspiration biopsy in salivary gland tumours

Of 105 tumours of the major salivary glands, 90 were benign and 15 malignant. In benign tumours a correct preoperative diagnosis was made by fine needle aspiration biopsy in 84%, and none were falsely classed as malignant. In the malignant tumours, only 8 out of 15 (53%) were correctly diagnosed as malignant while 7 were misdiagnosed as benign. It is concluded that in benign salivary gland tumours there is good accordance between fine needle aspiration biopsy and the final histological report, in contrast to the malignant tumours where this is less convincing. Fine needle aspiration biopsy is a valuable diagnostic tool, but the result should be carefully evaluated, regarded as only part of the clinical picture and not solely relied on.