A multicenter validation of the revised version of the Milan system for reporting salivary gland cytology (MSRSGC)

Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a basic step in the diagnosis of salivary gland tumors that have a wide variety of histological types. The recent Milan system for reporting salivary gland cytopathology (MSRSGC) can correlate the risk of malignancy with precise cytological features. A revised version was recently proposed to improve the surgical relevance and facilitate uniform management.

A multicenter study retrospectively used the original and revised MSRSGC criteria to classify a series of patients who received surgery after FNAC.

We enrolled 503 patients from three tertiary centers. The risk of malignancy for the MSRSGC resulted 19.5% in cat. I, 14.3% in cat. II, 17.6% in cat. III, 3.6% in cat. IVa, 24.6% in cat. IVb, 66.7% in cat. V, and 96.8% in cat. VI. The results from the revised MSRSGC were consistent with the original values.

The MSRSGC is a promising classification system. In our opinion, the revised version of the MSRSGC supplements FNAC with some crucial clinical information and can better identify the appropriate treatment in each category.