PURPOSE: to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of core needle biopsy in suspicious solid breast masses (Bi-Rads™ 4 or 5) up to 10 mm. METHODS: this study was conducted on 83 women diagnosed with 90 suspicious solid lumps, all measuring up to 10 mm, identified by mammography (41), sonography (47) or palpation (two), who visited our clinic from September 2003 to January 2006. The lesions were biopsied with automatic device and 14 gauge needle (Bard, Corington, GA), all of them ultrasound guided. According to the pathological report, the biopsies were classified as true-positives, false-positives, true-negatives, and false-negatives. The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound-guided core biopsy in breast masses up to 1 cm were calculated. RESULTS: the mean patient age was 52.5 years, and the mean diameter of the lesions was 7.3 mm, ranging from 3 to 10 mm. The results yielded by the pathologist showed 40 benign lesions (44.4%), 49 malignant lesions (54.4%) and one case (1.1%) of inconclusive material. This patient was submitted to ultrasound guided core needle biopsy once again, this time with conclusive results. There was agreement between histology and radiology in 89 cases. Sensitivity of ultrasound guided core biopsy for the diagnosis of breast cancer was 98.8 % and specificity 100%. CONCLUSIONS: the results obtained by ultrasound-guided core biopsy in suspicious breast lesions up to 10 mm are comparable to the best results of any kind of biopsy in the literature. Therefore, even solid lesions smaller or equal to 10 mm can be safely evaluated pathologically by core biopsy.
Breast neoplasms; Breast neoplasms; Breast neoplasms; Biopsy
