KBB-Forum 2013 , Cilt 12, Sayı 2

THE ROLE OF FINE NEEDLE ASPIRATION CYTOLOGY AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PAROTID MASSES

Gamze ATAY1, MD; Cavid CABBARZADE1, MD; Bahar KAYAHAN1, MD; Burçe ÖZGEN2, MD; Ali Şefik HOŞAL1, MD; Ahmet Bülent SÖZERİ1, MD; Ergin TURAN1, MD
1Department of Otolaryngology, Hacettepe University Medical School, Ankara, Turkey
2Department of Radiology, Hacettepe University Medical School, Ankara, Turkey Objective: Evaluation of parotid gland masses requires differentiation of both neoplastic from non-neoplastic lesions and benign from malignant tumors in order to determine the most suitable management method. This retrospective study aimed to compare the diagnostic value of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and MRI in the management of parotid gland masses.

Materials and Methods: The study included 193 patients that underwent parotid gland surgery between 2004 and 2010. Preoperatively, 155 patients underwent FNAC and 73 underwent MRI. Among the patients that underwent MRI, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was performed in 26. Partial parotidectomy was performed in 170 patients, and 16 had total and 4 patients had radical parotidectomy. Incisional biopsy was performed in 3 patients that were previously diagnosed with lymphoma. FNAC and MRI findings were compared with histopathological diagnoses.

Results: For the diagnosis of malignant pathologies, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of FNAC was 80.7%, 96.2%, and 78.1%, respectively, versus 73.3%, 88.2%, and 85.7%, respectively, for MRI.

Conclusions: FNAC and MRI findings were equally effective for differentiating between benign and malignant parotid masses. MRI with DWI and FNAC had similar diagnostic value for determining definitive histopathological diagnoses; however, MRI aided surgical management via avoiding additional information when compared to FNAC. Retrospective evaluation of patients included in the study showed that FNAC findings did not result in a change to the predetermined method of management of the parotid masses. Keywords : Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), parotid gland masses, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)