Diagnostic problems of salivary gland tumors

Abstract

Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of salivary gland is a popular technique with high sensitivity and specificity. However, the interpretation of FNAC smear of salivary gland lesions is a great challenge to the cytologists. The cytological features of the various tumors of the salivary gland have overlapping cytological features and many other lesions in the head neck region may mimic salivary lesions. Moreover, at times it may be difficult to differentiate benign from malignant tumor of the tumor with same cell of origin. In this article, we have discussed the various problems in the diagnosis of FNAC of the salivary gland lesions.

Keywords: FNAC; diagnosis; salivary gland; tumor.