[Aspiration biopsy cytology of salivary gland tumours (author's transl)].

Tumours of the salivary glands can be diagnosed in most cases by fine needle aspiration biopsy followed by cytological investigation of the biopsy samples. Compared with the histological results obtained from 194 samples, the diagnostic accuracy amounted to 75.5%. When the assessment of dignity of the tumour is carried out without further classification of the tumour, the accuracy increases above 90%. Possible errors involved in the aspiration technique and in the cytological assessment are discussed. The advantages of the fine needle aspiration biopsy for diagnosis and therapy of salivary gland tumours are stressed.