Use of vacuum assisted biopsy for non-palpable breast lesions

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the use of vacuum assisted breast biopsy in patients with non-palpable breast lesions. METHOD: Patients examined in the Breast Unit of the University of Athens, 1st Department of Propedeutic Surgery and found to have non-palpable lesions that mammographically scored Bi Rads 3 or 4 were included in the study. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients underwent vacuum assisted breast biopsy. In most (62.5%) the lesions were multiformatted microcalcifications, in 11 (34.3%) they were small nodules and in one the lesion was a nodule that contained microcalcifications (3.1%). In situ ductal carcinoma was the diagnosis in 4 (12.5%) patients, 1 patient (3.25) suffered from invasive carcinoma, 3 from adenosis (9.3%), 1 (3.1%) from atypical epithelial hyperplasia and the rest (n=23, 71.8%) from benign lestons. Complications were present in 3.1% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: Vacuum assisted biopsy of non-palpable breast lesions is a procedure which is easy to perform, and offers high sensitivity, specificity and safety in the diagnosis of early breast cancer.