Fine-needle sampling of salivary gland lesions. IV. Review of 50 cases of mucoepidermoid carcinoma with histologic correlation.

Fine-needle sampling (FNS) of 50 mucoepidermoid carcinomas, including 44 primary tumors, five local recurrences, and one lymph node metastasis, was performed preoperatively in 44 patients. Concordant cytologic diagnoses were established in only 19 (38%) tumors, whereas 15 (30%) were classified as carcinoma, five (10%) as suspicious, and six (12%) as benign tumors. The material was insufficient for cytologic evaluatin in five (10%) cases. The tumors were classified histologically as high-, intermediate-, and low-grade in 15, 13, and 22 cases, respectively. The quality of diagnosis did not vary between high- and intermediate-grade, but was lower in low-grade tumors: Malignancy was diagnosed or suspected in 13 (87%) high-grade tumors, 11 (85%) intermediate-grade tumors, and 15 (68%) low-grade tumors. In conclusion, FNS is an accurate technique in high- or intermediate-grade mucoepidermoid carcinomas, but quite unsatisfactory in low-grade tumors.