Cytopathological correlation of malignant breast lesion in determining grade of the tumor- An experience from tertiary care center from South India

Introduction: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a rapid and an accurate technique in diagnosing the nature of the breast lesion. There are only few studies where correlation between FNAC and histology of malignant breast lesion have been done. Aim: To study the correlation between FNAC and histopathology in determining grade of the breast malignancy and also to find the correlation between above two techniques in diagnosing malignant breast lesions. Materials and Methods: In prospective single center study, we included 35 patients with malignant breast lesion whose FNAC and histopathology were available. The histopathogical grading was done by using Scarf bloom Richardson grading system and cytological grading was done by Robinson’s grading. Results: Out of the 35 patients included in the study, the concordance rate of cytopathological correlation in determining the grading of lesion was 85.7% (30 out of 35 cases) and the concordance rate in determining nature of the lesion was 94.3% (33 out of 35 cases) respectively. Conclusion: Even though FNAC has replaced histopathology in diagnosing the nature of breast lesion, histopathology still remains the gold standard in determining grade of the malignant breast lesion. Keywords: Malignant breast lesion, Grading of the breast malignancy, Cytopathological correlation.