A Study of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology of Breast Lesions in Females with Special Reference to IAC Standardized Reporting at a Tertiary Care Centre

Background: Carcinoma of the breast is one of commonest carcinomas found in Indian women and also around the world. Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC), a quick, cost effective and patient compliant procedure, can give an adequate diagnosis to rule out at best the difference between a benign and malignant breast lump. The International Academy of Cytology (IAC) has developed a process for Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) reporting that is thorough and standardized. C1 to C5 are the categories for breast lesions. Methods: A total of 166 breast FNACs were performed over a period of 2.5 years after fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria and the aspirates were stained by Hematoxylin and Eosin stains and the stained slides were studied and diagnosis was made accordingly. The patients were classified using the IAC classification system that relies on their cytomorphological characteristics. Results: Out of 166 cases, 136 were neoplastic, 6 non-neoplastic and 24 cases were inadequate to opine. Of the 136 neoplastic cases, 89 cases (53.61%) were diagnosed as fibroadenoma and 19 cases (11.44%) were diagnosed as duct carcinoma. Conclusion: The fine needle aspiration cytology is a critical diagnostic tool in the management of patients with breast lump. It is an easy, reliable, patient friendly, repeatable and simple diagnostic test. FNAC can have a very high diagnostic accuracy when performed by experts.