A comparison of cytological and histopathological findings and role of immunostains in the diagnosis of soft tissue tumors

BACKGROUND: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) has been employed as a useful technique for the initial diagnosis of soft tissue tumors (STT) as well for the identification of recurrent and metastatic cases. AIM: We conducted this study on soft tissue tumors to find the efficacy of FNAC and to finalize the histological diagnosis with immunostains. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was conducted on 126 patients of soft tissue tumors. FNAC and histopathology was performed in all the cases. RESULTS: Hundred and five cases (83.3%) were diagnosed as benign and 21 cases (16.7%) as malignant. On FNAC, tumors were divided into six cytomorphological categories i.e. lipomatous, spindle cell, round cell, myxoid, pleomorphic and vascular tumors. Seventeen cases were inconclusive on cytology. In five cases, the type of malignancy was changed on histological examination. There were three false positive and two false negative cases giving a positive predictive value of 97.2 % in terms of malignancy, a sensitivity of 98.1% and a specificity of 96.7%. CONCLUSIONS: FNAC has a definite role in forming the initial diagnosis of STT, while histopathology with the aid of immunomarkers provides the final diagnosis.