Ultrasound-guided lymph node sampling: accuracy of FNAC, end-cutting (Franseen), and side-cutting (Temno) needle biopsy techniques

Ultrasound Pretreatment Lymph Node Evaluation in Early-Stage Breast Cancer: Should We Biopsy High Suspicion Nodes?

BACKGROUND

With the growing incidence of breast cancer, efficient and correct staging is essential for further treatment decisions. Axillary ultrasound (US) remains the most common method for regional nodal involvement assessment. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether high-risk US features can accurately predict axillary lymph node metastasis.

METHODS

A total of 150 early-stage breast cancer patients (T1 or T2) were prospectively included in the study. Based on axillary US, patients were classified as normal, low-risk, or high-risk, with all patients in the low-risk and high-risk groups undergoing fine-needle aspiration (FNAB) and core-needle biopsies.

RESULTS

For the low-risk US group, a lower prediction rate of axillary nodal metastasis was achieved than for the group with high-risk features, recording a sensitivity of 66.6% vs. 89.2%, a specificity of 57.1% vs. 100%, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 26.6% vs. 100%, a negative predictive value (NPV) of 88% for both groups, and an accuracy of 58.9% vs. 94%, respectively. FNAB resulted in more false-negative results compared to core-needle biopsy in both low-risk and high-risk US groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that high-risk US features can predict axillary lymph node metastasis with high accuracy.

Image-guided synovial biopsy with a focus on neoplastic lesions

Image-guided synovial biopsy is generally a safe, well-tolerated procedure, with a high diagnostic yield. Percutaneous biopsy is indicated for synovial tumours visible on imaging studies where a definitive diagnosis is not possible on imaging grounds alone and/or when a definite diagnosis is necessary prior to initiating long-term treatment. Synovial biopsy for suspected synovial tumour differs from the technique used for joint aspiration, where the most convenient path between the skin and joint is usually chosen and, also, to a lesser degree, to that used for non-tumoural synovial biopsy. During synovial biopsy for tumour, the needle path should be aligned so that it passes along the length of the synovial tumour, including for suspected malignant tumours, the planned resection plane whenever possible. This review outlines the approach to image-guided biopsy of joint synovial tumours.