Radiologically guided percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy of pelvicand retroperitoneal masses: A retrospective study of 68 cases

Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of the pelvis and retroperitoneum (Excluding t he pancreas, kidney, and adrenal masses) has not achieved its full potentia l as a diagnostic modality. We reviewed 68 percutaneous, radiologically gui ded FNAs from these locations to assess the clinical utility and complicati on rate of this procedure. Satisfactory material was obtained in 66 cases ( 97.1%), of which 37 were deemed positive (55%), 3 suspicious (4%), 4 atypic al (6%), and 22 negative (32%) for malignancy; two cases (3%) were unsatisf actory. Compared to biopsy (36 patients) and clinical information, the sens itivity and specificity of FNA for malignancy were 90.2% and 100%, respecti vely, yielded a positive predictive value of 100% and a negative predictive value of 86.6%. The four false-negative cases (5.9%) were due to sampling error. One patient had a minor complication (hematoma) from the procedure. We conclude that FNA is the procedure of choice for detecting most malignan cies in these two locations. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.