T. Hatada et al., Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy for breast tumors: Needle guide versus freehand technique, TUMORI, 85(1), 1999, pp. 12-14
Background: We retrospectively studied whether a needle guide is necessary
when performing ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (US-FNAB) i
n patients with breast tumors,
Methods: A total of 47 patients (50 lesions) with breast tumors underwent U
S-FNAB with a needle guide and 127 patients (143 lesions) underwent the pro
cedure without a needle guide (freehand biopsy). The diagnoses obtained by
US-FNAB were compared with the surgical findings.
Results: The sensitivity of freehand biopsy for tumors <3 cm in diameter wa
s significantly higher than that of the needle guide technique.
Conclusions: We recommend performing US-FNAB without a needle guide (freeha
nd biopsy) in order to maximize the correct preoperative diagnosis rate, es
pecially in patients with tumors <3 cm in diameter.