DIAGNOSTIC EFFICACY OF ASPIRATION CYTOLOGY VERSUS CELL BLOCK IN PALPABLE BREAST LESIONS

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Pathology
• Surgical Pathology

Background:

• Breast masses cause significant anxiety due to cancer concerns.
• Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) is a standard pre-surgical diagnostic technique for breast lumps.
• Cell blocks from FNA samples preserve cellular structure and facilitate immunohistochemistry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of FNA and cell blocks for breast lesions.
• To compare the accuracy of FNAC and cell block methods against histological diagnosis.

Main Methods:

• A one-year prospective study of 90 patients with palpable breast lesions.
• Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) and cell block procedures were performed.
• Samples were stained with haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and compared to biopsy histology.

Main Results:

• FNAC achieved 82.5% diagnostic accuracy (Sensitivity: 76.0%, Specificity: 98.5%).
• Cell blocks demonstrated higher accuracy (94.0%) with improved sensitivity (95.0%) and specificity (98.5%).
• Cell block positive predictive value was 94.1% and negative predictive value was 91.8%.

Conclusions:

• The cell block method is superior to FNAC for diagnosing breast tumors.
• Cell blocks enable tissue architecture study, potentially avoiding invasive biopsies.
• Enhanced accuracy in breast lesion diagnosis through cell block analysis.