A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LIQUID-BASED CYTOLOGY VERSUS CONVENTIONAL SMEARS IN FINE NEEDLE ASPIRATION CYTOLOGY OF BREAST LESIONS.

Background: FNAC is a simple, safe and cost-effective method and is one of the triple diagnostic triads along with clinical breast examination and radiology methods (mammography/ ultrasonography).Cytological diagnosis is very beneficial for the preoperative assessment of various breast lesions. The application of LBC technique along with conventional smear can strengthen the efficacy of diagnosing various breast lesions on FNAC. Aim: Comparison of liquid-based cytology versus conventional smears in fine needle aspiration cytology of breast lesions. Materials and Methods: A prospective study of 50 cases conducted over a period of 16 months included all female patients referred to the cytology department for FNAC. Two different passes were given, the first pass was used to prepare conventional smears and second pass was used for LBC smears. Results: Among 50 cases, 38 (76%) were benign and 12 (24%) were malignant. The commonest benign lesion was fibroadenoma and malignant lesion was Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma. The difference between LBC and conventional smears was statistically significant pertaining to background blood debris (p < 0.00001), informative background (p = 0.0004) and cellular architecture (p = 0.0075) while it was not statistically significant for cellularity, mono layering, nuclear and cytoplasmic details The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and diagnostic accuracy of FNAC in both LBC and conventional smears were similar, being 80%, 100%, 100%, 95.23% and 96% respectively. Conclusion: LBC cannot replace conventional cytology but can be used as a supplement with the conventional method to minimize false negative cytology rate and to increase the diagnostic accuracy of breast lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]