Peroral fine needle aspiration cytology of parapharyngeal tumors: a study of 67 cases

Peroral fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) was carried out to diagnose parapharyngeal tumors in 67 patients from January 2000 to January 2008. The inflammatory lesions were excluded in the present study. The age of patients ranged from 6 years to 72 years. Analysis of results showed 35 benign tumors and 32 malignant neoplasms. Correlation with histopathology showed a diagnostic accuracy of 92.5% with no false positive report. No complication was encountered in the present study. FNAC can replace incisional biopsy which may be hazardous in this area. Immediate treatment can be planned based on the FNAC report. Such a large series of parapharyngeal tumors diagnosed by FNAC has hardly been reported in India.