Fine needle aspiration biopsy of intra-osseous lesions of the mandible and maxilla.

This study was done with an aim to assess the reliability and diagnostic accuracy of fine needle aspiration biopsy of intraosseous jaw lesions. Of the 42 cases, adequate material for cytologic evaluation was obtained in 35 cases. Malignant cells were found in 9 of 35 cases. FNAB diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology in all 9 of these specimens (100% accuracy). The FNAB diagnosis of benign lesions was confirmed in 19 of 26 cases (73% accuracy). The most common benign lesions were odontogenic cysts, followed by fibro-osseous and giant cell lesions. Incorrect diagnosis was related to lack of architectural context of the FNAB material, inadequate quantity of the aspirate and sampling of a non-representative part of a large lesion. Thus FNAB is a useful, simple, fairly reliable and outpatient procedure for diagnosis of intra-osseous jaw lesions, especially to distinguish between malignant and benign jaw lesions.