Fine-needle aspiration biopsy of the thyroid gland: results of a five-year experience and discussion of its clinical limitations.

The results of a five-year experience with fine-needle thyroid aspiration cytology are reported to assess the value, accuracy and limitations of this biopsy procedure. The cytologic diagnoses on 1,465 thyroid aspirates are listed, and correlation of cytology with histology on 207 cases undergoing surgery is reported. The incidence of malignancy among the atypical and malignant cytology aspirates with histologic confirmed diagnosis was 65% (28/43) while a false negative rate of 11.5% (15/131) was found. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy is a safe and useful procedure with an acceptable accuracy rate that complements other investigations in the screening of patients for thyroid surgery.