P Hemalatha¹,Saritha^2,Padmavathi³, Sandhya Anil⁴

^1,2Assistant Professor,³Associate Professor,⁴Professor & Head, Department of Pathology,Kakatiya Medical College,Warangal,Telangana,India.

Address for correspondence: Dr P Hemalatha, Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology,Kakatiya Medical College,Warangal,Telangana,India

Email: drphemalatha2922@gmail.com

Introduction: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is useful in distinguishing accurately between benign and malignant soft tissue tumors and subclassify them into general and clinically relavant cases to initiate treatment.It’s accuracy when applied by experienced and well trained practitioner matches that of histopatholgy in providing equivocal diagnosis.

Materials and Methods :This 2yrs retrospective and prospective study was done in Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital Warangal by considering both exclusion and inclusion criteria in 240 cases. History & clinical evaluation were done.They were subjected to FNAC and later biopsy done and correlated.

Results :FNAC revealed diagnostic material in 233 cases and7 cases were inconclusive for diagnosis.220 cases (92%) diagnosed as benign and 13cases(5.4%) were diagnosed as malignant on FNAC.Out of which 216(98%) benign cases were correlated on histopathology as benign,4 cases were diagnosed as malignant on HPE.All the13(100%) cases diagnosed as malignant on FNAC were correlated with histopathology as malignant.Out of the 7 inconclusive cases 4 cases diagnosed as benign and 3 cases diagnosed as malignant on histopathology. Diagnostic accuracy of benign cases is 97% & malignant cases is 100%.

Conclusion :FNAC is very useful procedure in preoperative diagnosis of benign&malignancy of soft tissue tumors with certain limitations.It is safe useful procedure of low financial cost, low morbidity with compliance& acceptable diagnostic accuracy.

Keywords : Fine needle aspiration cytology,soft tissue tumors,Histopathological examination.