OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical utility of adding lateral approach to conventional vertical approach for prone stereotactic vacuum-assisted breast biopsies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From April 2010 to May 2012, 130 vacuum-assisted stereotactic biopsies were attempted in 127 patients. While a vertical approach was preferred, a lateral approach was used if the vertical approach failed. The success rate of biopsies utilizing only a vertical approach was compared with that using both vertical and lateral approaches and the breast thickness for both procedures was measured and compared with that for vertical approach. In addition, pathology results were evaluated and the causes of the failed biopsies were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 130 cases, 127 biopsies were performed and 3 biopsies failed. The success rate of the vertical approach was 83.8% (109/130); however, when the lateral approach was also used, the success rate increased to 97.7% (127/130) (p = 0.0004). The mean breast thickness was 2.7 +/- 1 cm for the lateral approach and 4 +/- 1.2 cm for the vertical approach (p < 0.0001). The histopathologic results in 76 (59.8%) of the biopsies were benign, 23 (18.1%) were high-risk lesions, and 28 (22.0%) were malignant. The causes of biopsy failure were thin breasts (n = 2) and undetected difficult lesion location (n = 1). CONCLUSION: The addition of lateral approach to conventional vertical approach in prone stereotactic vacuum-assisted breast biopsy improved the success rate of stereotactic biopsy, especially in patients with thin breasts.
Adult ; Aged ; Biopsy, Needle/*methods/utilization ; Breast Neoplasms/*diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Mammography/methods ; Middle Aged ; Reproducibility of Results ; Retrospective Studies ; Stereotaxic Techniques/*utilization

OBJECTIVETo assess the diagnostic value of core needle biopsy (CNB) before neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.

METHODSOne hundred and nineteen breast cancer cases underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy in our hospital during the period from June, 2005 to January, 2007 were analyzed. CNB was carried out before starting chemotherapy. The hematoxylin and eosin-stained slides of CNB taken before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy were reviewed independently by two pathologists, and the rate of consistency was verified.

RESULTSAmongst the 119 cases studied, 110 cases were confirmed to be carcinoma, including 105 cases of invasive carcinoma and 5 cases of ductal carcinoma-in-situ. The rate of consistency was 97.22% (105/108).

CONCLUSIONCNB has important value in distinguishing benign from malignant lesions, as well as in confirming the diagnosis of invasive carcinoma before starting neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Biopsy, Needle ; methods ; utilization ; Breast ; pathology ; Breast Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; methods