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World J Radiol. May 28, 2016; 8(5): 501-505
Published online May 28, 2016. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v8.i5.501
Biopsy of parotid masses: Review of current techniques
Sananda Haldar, Joseph D Sinnott, Kemal M Tekeli, Samuel S Turner, David C Howlett
Sananda Haldar, David C Howlett, Department of Radiology, East Sussex Healthcare Trust, Eastbourne BN21 2UD, United Kingdom
Joseph D Sinnott, Department of ENT Surgery, East Sussex Healthcare Trust, Eastbourne BN21 2UD, United Kingdom
Kemal M Tekeli, Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Royal Sussex County Brighton, Brighton BN2 5BE, United Kingdom
Samuel S Turner, Department of Surgery, Royal Free Hospital, London NW3 2QG, United Kingdom
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to this work: Performing literature searching, data analysis, writing and editing roles.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors above have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Joseph D Sinnott, Department of ENT Surgery, East Sussex Healthcare Trust, King’s Dr, Eastbourne BN21 2UD, United Kingdom. j.d.sinnott@gmail.com
Telephone: +44-1323-417400
Received: October 10, 2015
Peer-review started: October 11, 2015
First decision: December 28, 2015
Revised: February 2, 2016
Accepted: February 23, 2016
Article in press: February 24, 2016
Published online: May 28, 2016
Processing time: 221 Days and 9.5 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Definitive diagnosis of parotid gland masses is important for management and prognosis. There is a move toward a triple assessment but there remains some uncertainty about the best method for obtaining biopsy. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each technique and propose that ultrasound guided core biopsy should be the technique of choice. Fine needle aspiration cytology is an accepted and widely used technique although the diagnostic accuracy is low. Intra-operative frozen section does not have a role as a first line diagnostic technique but may be reserved as an adjunct or for lesions not amenable to percutaneous biopsy.