Waqar Alam Jan, Naik Zada, Samieullah, Mohammad Israr.
Comparison of FNAC and Core Biopsy for evaluating Breast Lumps.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;12(11):686-8.

Objective: To find out the sensitivity and specificity of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and compare the results with core biopsy in breast lumps. Design: A prospective, observational and comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in Saidu Group of Teaching Hospital, Swat, NWFP, Pakistan, from July, 2000 to January, 2002. Subjects and Methods: One-hundred and sixty patients, presenting with breast lump/lumps at out-patients department, were included in the study. FNAC and core needle biopsy were performed simultaneously, under local anesthesia. Results: Out of 160 patients core needle biopsy provided 100% results while in case of FNAC the diagnostic result were 143 (89.3%). Eleven (6.8%) cases were unsatisfactory and 6 (3.75%) were suspicious. Thirty cases turned out to be malignant. Two cases of FNAC were found benign but proved to be malignant on core biopsy. The sensitivity and specificity of fine needle aspiration cytology were 92.6% and 98.48% respectively. Difference in obtaining the results between the two procedures was statistically significant. Conclusion: FNAC in this study has not been proved to be true alternative for core needle biopsy in our setup.

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