Fine‐needle aspiration in the diagnosis of head and neck growths: Is it necessary?

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Abstract
The results of fine‐needle aspiration cytology performed on 150 patients at the Geneva Clinic of Otolaryngology were analyzed. The accuracy rate was 80%. The study was nondiagnostic in 10% of the cases and falsely negative in another 10%. These results are similar to those in other centers. Nevertheless, several recent reports attest to the accuracy of fine‐needle aspirations cytology, and in some clinics it is now part of the initial workup of every patient with a growth in the head and neck. On the basis of our own retrospective analysis, we believe fine‐needle aspiration is a useful study only in patients with a previously treated malignancy and who have a new lump in the neck suspected to be a recurrence.