Fine-needle aspiration cytology in a regional head and neck cancer center: comparison with a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is used to diagnose masses presenting in the head and neck region. No systematic review of FNAC in this group has yet been performed. Methods A systematic review of the published literature and meta-analysis of data extracted from the included studies were compared with a 10-year review of head and neck FNAC from our institution. Results Systematic review identified 30 studies; 3459 FNAC aspirates from all head and neck sites were included. Overall results were as follows: sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were 89.6%, 96.5%, 93.1%, 96.2%, and 90.3%, respectively. Two thousand seven hundred two head and neck aspirates were included in our institutional review. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy were 89.5%, 98.5%, 97.3%, 94.0%, and 95.1%, respectively. Conclusion Meta-analysis and comparative systematic review confirm that FNAC is highly effective in the diagnosis of head and neck masses, with some limitations. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2008