Objective: To evaluate the clinical usefulness of mammography-guided wire localization plus ultrasound-guided core-needle biopsy of breast microcalcification and avoid the effects of preoperative excisional biopsy for patients undergoing sentinel node biopsy.
Methods: A total of 38 patients with unpalpable lesions, ultrasonic negativity and abnormal mammography received a guide wire under mammography and performed ultrasound-guided core-needle biopsy of breast microcalcification before preoperative excisional biopsy.
Results: All 38 lesions were successfully located and biopsied for pathological examination. Carcinoma was present in 9 lesions: ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) (6/38) and intraductal carcinoma with early infiltration (3/38). For 29 benign lesions, there were mastopathies (25/38), atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH)(3/38) and intraductal papiloma (1/38). Breast microcalcification was detected in all lesions by ultrasound-guided core-needle biopsy. The detection rate of breast cancer detected was 30.8% and the diagnostic accuracy 100%.
Conclusions: For patients with unpalpable lesions, ultrasound negativity and abnormal mammography, mammography-guided wire-localization plus ultrasound-guided core-needle biopsy of breast microcalcification is accurate, safe and feasible. And it may avoid the effects of preoperative excisional biopsy for patients with sentinel node biopsy. The procedure is worthy of wider clinical applications.