Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy of Salivary Gland Lesions

Abstract

The accuracy was 97%, the sensitivity to the presence of a tumor 98% and the specificity for absence of a neoplasm 98%. Despite the relative rarity of salivary gland tumors, if established diagnostic criteria are present and strictly observed, the great majority of the common variants of the nonneoplastic and both benign and malignant salivary gland tumors can be diagnosed with a high level of accuracy. There remains a proportion of "problem cases" due to the rarity of the lesions, and in these circumstances the uncertainty must be conveyed to the surgeon openly, leaving the diagnosis open, with a few suggested differential diagnoses.