Fine-needle aspiration of salivary gland lesions. Comparison with frozen sections and histologic findings.

The results of 171 salivary gland fine-needle aspirates, with subsequent histologic correlation, were compared with those from previous head and neck series and analyzed for diagnostic accuracy. Cytologically, 118 cases were diagnosed as benign; 51, malignant; and two, insufficient for diagnosis. The false-negative rate was 4.7%, and the false-positive rate was 3.5%. Pleomorphic adenoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, chronic sialadenitis, and malignant lymphoma were the lesions most frequently misdiagnosed. Corresponding frozen sections (available in 38 cases) showed an exact correlation with the final surgical pathologic diagnosis in 58% of the cases, with no false-positive diagnoses but an 11% false-negative rate.