The Role of Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology in the Evaluation of Breast Lumps.

Background Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women worldwide, accounting for more than one in ten new cancer cases each year. It ranks as the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women. The majority of patients present with palpable breast lumps. Effective surgical management of breast cancer largely depends on accurate preoperative pathological diagnosis. This study evaluates the diagnostic accuracy and prognostic implications of fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) compared with core needle biopsy (CNB) in breast carcinoma. Objectives The objectives of this study are to assess the sensitivity and specificity of FNAC and CNB, to compare the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC and CNB against histopathological findings from gross specimens in the evaluation of breast lumps, and to identify and examine the limitations associated with both FNAC and CNB procedures. Materials and methods This study included female patients presenting with clinically suspicious palpable breast lumps at the General Surgery OPD of Bankura Sammilani Medical College and Hospital, Bankura. All patients underwent FNAC followed by CNB. The cytological and CNB diagnoses were compared with the final pathological diagnosis obtained from excisional biopsy. Results The study included 44 female patients aged 20 to 70 years. The most common age group for breast carcinoma was 50-59 years (36.36%). Malignancy was diagnosed in 75% of cases (33/44), with right breast involvement (65%) being more common than the left. The upper outer quadrant (59%) was the most frequently affected area. Among the 33 confirmed malignant cases, 69.70% had lesions larger than 5 cm. FNAC demonstrated a sensitivity of 93.93%, specificity of 100%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 100%, negative predictive value (NPV) of 84.61%, and diagnostic accuracy of 95.45%. CNB showed a sensitivity of 96.97%, specificity of 100%, PPV of 100%, NPV of 91.67%, and diagnostic accuracy of 97.73%. Both methods correlated significantly with the final histopathology results (p < 0.05). FNAC identified ductal carcinoma in 93.55% of cases, while CNB identified it in 96.77%. Conclusion CNB provides additional information on receptor status but is more resource-intensive. FNAC remains a cost-effective and time-efficient first-line diagnostic tool, especially in resource-constrained settings like rural India. FNAC should be employed for initial diagnosis, with CNB reserved for cases requiring further clarification.