Diagnostic value of fine needle aspiration biopsy in neoplasms of the head and neck.

In this paper, the cytologic findings of 90 aspirates obtained by the fine needle aspiration technique from head and neck masses are compared with the histology of the permanent section. The overall concurrence rate between cytologic and histologic findings for benign and malignant tumors is 80%. There is a 6.6% false negative rate. There are no false positive results. Fine needle aspiration biopsy is found to be safe, complication free, and most helpful in treatment planning.