Evaluation of The Value of Core Needle Biopsy in The Diagnosis of a Breast Mass

Background: Core needle biopsy (CNB) with histological findings is regardedas one of the most important diagnostic measures that make preoperativeassessment and planning for appropriate treatment possible. The aim of this studywas to determine the sensitivity and specificity of core biopsy results in our patientswith benign and malignant breast lumps, especially for borderline breast lesions,by using a classification method.Methods: In this study, ۱۱۶ patients who were referred to the Surgery Clinic ofGhaem Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran withbreast lump and underwent diagnostic procedures such as mammography andultrasound were selected. Core needle biopsy (Tru-cut #۱۴ or ۱۶) was performed.After that, excisional biopsy was done. The benign, malignant and unspecifiedsamples obtained by core needle biopsy were evaluated with the samples of thesurgical and pathological findings. Then, false positive, false negative, sensitivity,specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of the core needle biopsy method werecalculated. Also, the National Health Service Breast Screening Program(NHSBSP) classification was employed.Results: The mean age of the participants in this study was ۳۹±۱۳.۱۳ years andthe mean tumor size was ۲.۷ cm. An average of ۳.۳۵ biopsies was taken from allpatients. Most of the pathology samples taken from CNB and excisional biopsywere compatible with invasive ductal carcinoma. Of the B type classifications, B۵was the most frequent in both methods. Borderline lesions B۳ and B۴ had a changein their category after surgery. About ۲.۵% of the samples in core biopsy wereinadequate. Skin bruising was the most common core biopsy complicationreported. While, the most common complication of excisional biopsy washematoma. Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictivevalues of the core needle biopsy procedure compared with excisional biopsy was۹۵.۵%, ۹۲.۶%, ۱۰۰%, ۱۰۰%, and ۹۱.۸%, respectively.Conclusions: Core needle biopsy has a high sensitivity and specificity with fewside effects. Borderline classifications need more evaluation to rule out cancers.

Keywords:

Breast lumps , core needle biopsy , sensitivity and specificity , NHSBSP classification