Correlative study of cytological features in grading of invasive breast carcinoma

Context: Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a proven diagnostic technique for establishing the benign or malignant character of breast lesions. Several cytological grading systems have been proposed for grading of carcinoma breast, with results similar to histologic grades. Aims: This study sought to evaluate the prognostic value of FNAC in invasive ductal carcinoma of breast by correlating it with histological grade. Settings and Design: Tertiary care hospital, retrospective analytical study. Patients and Methods: One hundred and fifty cases of breast carcinoma that underwent modified radical mastectomy consequent to an FNAC diagnosis were included in the study. Robinson's grading system and Elston–Ellis modification of Scarff–Bloom–Richardson grading system were used to assign cytologic and histologic grades, respectively. Statistical Analysis: The cytological grades were correlated with the histological grades using χ 2 -test and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. The individual features of the cytological grades were correlated with the histological grades using Kappa coefficient and χ 2 -test. Values were considered significant at P Results: A statistically significant association was observed between cytologic and histologic grades ( r = 0.97; P P Conclusions: Robinson's cytologic grading system is a reliable grading method on FNAC smears of cases of carcinoma breast. It correlates well with Elston–Ellis modification of Scarff–Bloom–Richardson grade in invasive ductal carcinoma of breast.