Cytological Findings of Malignant and Benign Head and Neck Masses in Somalia.

OBJECTIVE: There are no up-to-date records on head and neck masses (HNMs) in Somalia. This cytological study is the first to demonstrate the benefits and findings of fine-needle aspiration cytology in evaluating HNMs in the adult population of Somalia.

STUDY DESIGN: A total of 116 aspiration samples were taken from different levels of the neck region, except for the thyroid. Cases were classified as salivary gland, lymph node, or soft tissue/cystic lesions. They were classified according to age, gender, and cytological diagnosis.

RESULTS: Patients included 54 (46.6%) males and 62 (53.4%) females, with a mean age of 40.6 years. Seventy-two patients (62.1%) had benign lesions, while 44 (37.9%) had malignant lesions. Necrotizing granulomatous lymphadenitis (n = 51, 70.8% of the benign findings) and lymph node metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma (n = 13, 29.5% of the malignant findings) were the most frequent findings.

CONCLUSION: Fine-needle aspiration is a useful procedure in the diagnosis of neck masses. It is a cheap and easy guiding method for diagnosing granulomatous lymphadenitis and advanced-stage metastatic cancers, which are common in this country.