Analysis of Female Breast Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology *

Background: The adult female breast consists of a series of ducts, ductules, and lobular acinar units embedded within a stroma that is composed of varying amounts of fibrous and adipose tissue in contrast to the epithelial elements of the male breast which consist of branching ducts without lobule formation. Breast lesions could result from diseases affecting any of these anatomical structures of the breast. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the breast is a rapid and safe method for the diagnosis of breast lumps with an impressively short turnaround time. Aim: To determine the analysis of female breast fine needle aspiration cytology in Calabar from January, 2012 to December, 2016. Methodology: This study is a retrospective study on the prevalence of the different diagnosis of fine needle aspiration cytology of the female breast done the department of Pathology, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital from January, 2012 to December, 2016. Information including patient sociodemographic data, clinical information and diagnosis were obtained from the cytology register and laboratory request form. The FNAC samples were reported using the 5-tier system: C1 (unsatisfactory), C2 (benign), C3 (suspicious probably benign), C4(suspicious probably malignant) and C5 (malignant). Results: . In this study, the 974 FNAC specimens were analysed. The age range of the patient is between 11 and 79 years of age. The mean age of the subjects is 41.4 ±1.7 years. The group of patients with the highest proportion of samples is age group 21 30 years making up 22.4% of all the FNAC samples analyzed. In all, 476 of the lumps were in the right breast making up 48.9% of the total samples analyzed, the 454 were in the left breast comprising 46.6% of the patients, while 44 were bilateral making up 4.5% of the patients. The group of patient with the highest frequency of diagnosis is C2 (benign) making up 41.3% of the cases, followed by C5 constituting 28.2%, C3 (13.8%), C4 (13.%) and then C1 (3.7%). Conclusion: The rapid diagnosis of a breast lump through an FNAC is of great help in making decisions on patients’ management. An accurate and reliable FNAC goes a long way in helping patient care worldwide.