Fine-needle aspiration cytology of mediastinal masses: An institutional experience

Mediastinal masses are uncommon in clinical practice. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is an important and useful investigation and is considered next to imaging in the diagnosis of mediastinal lesions.

To analyze the mediastinal masses diagnosed on FNAC.

We retrospectively retrieved twenty-five cases, which underwent FNAC under ultrasound or computed tomography (CT) guidance for mediastinal masses, over a period of 4 years. Histopathological correlations were done in cases wherever available.

Among twenty-five cases, which were diagnosed through FNAC, eighteen were males and seven were females with age ranging from 6 to 85 years. Ultrasonography (USG)-guided FNAC was performed in three patients, while CT-guided FNAC was performed in twenty-two patients. Out of twenty-five cases, seventeen cases were malignant, six were benign, and two cases were inadequate. FNAC was useful in the diagnosis of 83.3% of cases. Biopsy and/or cell block correlations were available in fourteen cases. In the malignant category, mediastinal invasion by either squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma constituted the highest number with eight (47%) out of seventeen cases. Among the nonneoplastic conditions, nonspecific inflammation was the most common cause with two cases (8%) out of total cases followed by one case each of tuberculosis, schwannoma, thymoma, and cystic lesion.

USG or CT-guided FNAC is a safe, minimally invasive, and cost-effective procedure, which can provide a precise diagnosis in the mediastinal masses, and may obviate the need for an invasive surgical approach.