Fine-needle aspiration cytology in a regional head and neck cancer center: Comparison with a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is used to diagnose masses presenting in the head and neck region. No systematic review of FNAC in this group has yet been performed. Methods. A systematic review of the published literature and meta-analysis of data extracted from the included studies were compared with a 10-year review of head and neck FNAC from our institution. Results. Systematic review identified 30 studies 3459 FNAC aspirates from all head and neck sites were included. Overall results were as follows: sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were 89.6%, 96.5%, 93.1%, 96.2%, and 90.3%, respectively. Two thousand seven hundred two head and neck aspirates were included in our institutional review. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy were 89.5%, 98.5%, 97.3%, 94.0%, and 95.1% , respectively. Conclusion. Meta-analysis and comparative systematic review confirm that FNAC is highly effective in the diagnosis of head and neck masses, with some limitations. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals. Inc.