Abstract Background: Exocrine salivary glands have an incidence rate of 59.94 per 100,000 people. Neoplastic lesions account for 2.5–3 per 100,000 cases and make up about 2%–6% of all head and neck cancers. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a quick, cost-effective diagnostic method with generally high predictive accuracy, playing a crucial role in the early detection and risk assessment of malignancies. Aims and Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC compared to histopathological findings and to examine the range of salivary gland lesions in relation to patient demographics. Materials and Methods: This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted on 90 cases of salivary gland lesions that underwent both fine needle aspiration and histopathology examination at the Department of Pathology, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru Memorial Medical College, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India, over a period of 6 years (January 2019–December 2024). Results: Out of 90 cases, 75 were neoplastic lesions, including 45 benign and 30 malignant tumors, while 15 cases were nonneoplastic. FNAC showed a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 86.7% in distinguishing neoplastic from nonneoplastic lesions. The positive predictive value was 91.7%, and the negative predictive value was 84.3%. The overall diagnostic accuracy of FNAC was 86.7%. Conclusion: FNAC shows high sensitivity and satisfactory specificity, making it an effective first-line diagnostic tool for salivary gland lesions. It enables early diagnosis and guides suitable clinical management.
Mangrulkar et al. (Tue,) studied this question.