Utility of Image Guided Fine needle aspiration in the Diagnosis Of Ovarian Masses: A Cytohistopathological Correlation

Background: The incidence of  ovarian masses has increased over the past two decades and is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths globally. Although histopathology remains the gold standard, in recent times, image-guided aspiration is being increasingly used as a rapid, inexpensive and efficient method for the pre-operative diagnosis of ovarian masses. The present study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of image guided FNAC in diagnosis of ovarian masses in comparison with histopathology and to assess the limitations of cytological interpretation. Methods: The study was conducted on 92 cases of ovarian masses which were evaluated by image guided FNAC. Sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy were calculated using histopathology as gold standard. Results: Cytological diagnosis was obtained in all the 92 patients with ovarian masses followed by histopathological examination. The cytological diagnosis was grouped into 2 categories- Benign/Possibly Benign (60 cases) and Malignant/Suspicious of malignancy (32 cases). On cytohistological correlation it was found that a correct diagnosis was made in 86 cases, resulting in a diagnostic accuracy of 93.4%, sensitivity of 84.3 % and specificity of 98.3%. Conclusion: Image guided FNAC seems to be a relatively safe, simple, fast and cost-effective procedure where most ovarian malignancies can be correctly diagnosed with a high accuracy.