LARGE-CORE NEEDLE-BIOPSY OF NONPALPABLE BREAST CANCERS - THE IMPACT ON SUBSEQUENT SURGICAL EXCISIONS

Objective: To compare the subsequent surgical therapy for women with n onpalpable breast cancers diagnosed by large-core needle biopsy (LCNB) vs those diagnosed by surgical excision after wire localization. Desi gn: Retrospective review of cases and results. Setting: Secondary refe rred care. Patients: A total of 677 women diagnosed as having breast c ancer by LCNB (n=67) or by surgical excision after wire localization ( n=610). Results: Women in the LCNB group underwent an average of 1.25 surgical procedures and women whose breast cancers were diagnosed by s urgical excision after preoperative wire localization underwent an ave rage of 2.01 surgical procedures (P<.001). Conclusions: Large-core nee dle biopsy decreases the number of surgical procedures in women diagno sed as having nonpalpable breast cancers. Increased implementation of this technique will substantially decrease the costs of surgical thera py in these patients.