ASSESSMENT OF MAMMOGRAPHIC ABNORMALITIES WITH THE ADVANCED BREAST BIOPSY INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEM

Background: The drawbacks of breast screening include unnecessary inte rvention in patients with benign disease and lack of preoperative diag nosis in patients with screen-detected malignancy. We are prospectivel y assessing the impact of the Advanced Breast Biopsy Instrumentation ( ABBI) system (Autosuture U.K.) which allows stereotactic biopsy and ex cision of screen-detected lesions. Method: Patients with screen-detect ed clinically occult abnormalities were referred for evaluation on the ABBI system. All procedures were carried out under local anaesthetic. All data including a patient satisfaction questionnaire were collecte d prospectively by a dedicated research nurse. Results: To date, 78 pa tients have undergone 20 excision biopsies and 58 core biopsies. Of th e excision biopsies, 10 were malignant: six invasive ductal, four duct al carcinoma bl situ, and the remaining benign lesions included radial scars (n = 2), complex sclerosing lesions (n = 2) and fibroadenomata. Mean duration of the excision biopsies was 50 (range 30-105) min. His tology of the core biopsies revealed malignancy in 12 cases and benign disease in 46. The procedures were well tolerated by all patients wit h no complications. Conclusion: The ABBI system provides a well-tolera ted accurate diagnostic intervention for patients with screen-detected breast lesions. It facilitates accurate preoperative diagnosis and ha s the potential for therapeutic applications in patients with very sma ll radiologically detected cancers.