Abstract Introduction: A palpable breast lump is a common clinical problem that needs thorough evaluation by clinical examination, FNAC, mammography and biopsy if required. Aim of the Study: To study the accuracy of fine needle aspirations in breast diseases and compare it with histopathology. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study carried out in the department of Pathology, Shadan Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Hyderabad. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and corresponding histopathology were studied in 81 cases over a three year period. Results: The patient age ranged from 12 to 64 years. Non – neoplastic lesion constituted 12%, benign tumors 47% and malignant tumors 40% on FNAC. Failed aspiration was 1%. There were one false positive and four false negative cases on FNAC. This was mainly due to limitations in FNAC, both in interpretation and nature of lesion. The overall diagnostic accuracy of FNAC was 93.8% with accuracy rate of 90% in non–neoplastic, 73.7% in benign and 93.8% in malignant lesions. Overall sensitivity and specificity were 88.5% and 97.7% respectively. No significant complication was observed in any of the cases investigated by fine needle aspiration cytology. Conclusion: FNAC as an OPD procedure is simple and easy to perform, takes less time gives quicker results. FNAC procedure has no significant complications. It can be used for diagnosis in non-neoplastic and benign proliferative conditionswith reasonably good diagnostic accuracy.
Keywords: Breast Lesions; FNAC; Histopathology Correlation.