Percutaneous Core Needle Biopsy Can Efficiently and Safely Diagnose Most Primary Bone Tumors

An Image-Guided Percutaneous Core Needle Biopsy for Accurate Assessment of Musculoskeletal Tumors: A Targeted Diagnosis

Background Accurate diagnosis of musculoskeletal tumors is essential for guiding appropriate treatment strategies. Percutaneous core needle biopsy (PCNB) is increasingly recognized as a valuable method for obtaining tissue samples for histopathological examination. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and clinical utility of PCNB in diagnosing musculoskeletal tumors. Methodology A total of 152 cases suspected of musculoskeletal tumors underwent PCNB at our tertiary care center between 2020 and 2023. Pre-biopsy evaluation included comprehensive clinical assessment and imaging studies. Core biopsies were performed under image guidance, with specimens sent for histopathological examination and culture sensitivity analysis. Diagnostic yield, accuracy, and performance metrics of PCNB were assessed. Results PCNB demonstrated a diagnostic yield of 93.4%. However, in cases where initial biopsies were inconclusive, repeat core biopsy or open biopsy provided the necessary diagnostic clarity. PCNB demonstrated a remarkable diagnostic accuracy of 97.9%, with a specificity and positive predictive value of 100%. There were no post-biopsy complications and no instances of local recurrence from the biopsy tract. Conclusions PCNB can be a reliable method for diagnosing musculoskeletal tumors, offering high diagnostic accuracy and minimal complications. The utilization of image guidance enhances precision and reduces the risk of complications. PCNB proves effective in diagnosing both primary tumors and bone infections, facilitating timely and appropriate treatment strategies in orthopedic oncology.

Open Versus Core Needle Biopsy in Lower-Extremity Sarcoma: Current Practice Patterns and Patient Outcomes

BACKGROUND

Historically, open biopsy (OB) was the gold standard for sarcoma diagnosis. Core needle biopsy (CNB) has become increasingly common. There are limited data evaluating how the type of biopsy impacts definitive surgical resection or postoperative outcomes. The aims of this study were to (1) characterize current international biopsy practice patterns, and (2) evaluate how the type of biopsy performed impacts the resection surgery, infection risk, oncological complications, and patient-reported functional outcome scores.

METHODS

This study was a preplanned secondary analysis of the prospective, multicenter PARITY (Prophylactic Antibiotic Regimens in Tumor Surgery) study. Patients with a benign diagnosis, metastatic disease, or no biopsy prior to surgery were excluded. Prospectively collected demographic, biopsy, surgical, and outcome variables were analyzed, and differences between patients undergoing OB and CNB were assessed. Parametric and nonparametric tests were used to compare variables between groups, and the Cox proportional hazards method was used to compare infection-related and oncological outcomes at 1 year. Median functional outcome scores at 1 year were compared.

RESULTS

Four hundred and sixty-four patients met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected from 48 sarcoma centers in 12 countries. CNB was the more utilized biopsy modality overall (57.5%). OB was more common in the U.S. and Canada. The median operative time was significantly longer for patients who underwent OB (324 versus 260 minutes; p < 0.001). Significantly more skin (p < 0.001) and fascial tissue (p < 0.001) were excised in the OB group, which also had a lower rate of primary closure (86.3% versus 92.9%; p = 0.03). There were no differences in surgical site infection or oncological outcomes between the groups at 1-year follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

CNB was the more common biopsy modality in the PARITY study in most countries. However, OB was more common in the U.S. and Canada. Patients undergoing OB had longer operative times, more excised tissue, and lower rates of primary closure, but this did not translate to differences in infection rates or oncological outcomes, including local recurrence.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Radiologists with assistance of deep learning can achieve overall accuracy of benign-malignant differentiation of musculoskeletal tumors comparable with that of pre-surgical biopsies in the literature

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to assess if radiologists assisted by deep learning (DL) algorithms can achieve diagnostic accuracy comparable to that of pre-surgical biopsies in benign-malignant differentiation of musculoskeletal tumors (MST).

METHODS

We first conducted a systematic review of literature to get the respective overall diagnostic accuracies of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) and core needle biopsy (CNB) in differentiating between benign and malignant MST, by synthesizing data from the articles meeting our inclusion criteria. To compared against the accuracies reported in literature, we then invited 4 radiologists, respectively with 2 (A), 6 (B), 7 (C), and 33 (D) years of experience in interpreting musculoskeletal MRI to perform diagnostic tests on our own dataset (n = 62), with and without assistance of a previously developed DL algorithm. The gold standard for benign-malignant differentiation was histopathologic confirmation or clinical/radiographic follow-up.

RESULTS

For FNAB, a meta-analysis containing 4604 samples met the inclusion criteria, with the overall diagnostic accuracy reported to be 0.77. For CNB, an overall accuracy of 0.86 was derived by synthesizing results from 7 original research articles containing a total of 587 samples. On our internal MST dataset, the invited radiologists, respectively, achieved diagnostic accuracies of 0.84 (A), 0.89 (B), 0.87 (C), and 0.90 (D), with the assistance of DL.

CONCLUSION

Use of DL algorithms on musculoskeletal dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI improved the benign-malignant differentiation accuracy of radiologists to a level comparable to that of pre-surgical biopsies. The developed DL algorithms have a potential to lower the risk of miss-diagnosing malignancy in radiological practice.

A novel core biopsy needle with shorter dead space for percutaneous image-guided musculoskeletal biopsies - how does it compare with an established core biopsy needle?

PURPOSE

To compare diagnostic yield and utility of a novel core biopsy needle (NCBN) with shortened tip dead space for percutaneous musculoskeletal biopsies with an established core biopsy needle (ECBN).

METHODS

This study was IRB approved and HIPAA compliant. All percutaneous biopsies using an NCBN performed between July 2020 and August 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Data on patient demographics, biopsy technique, biopsy needle, and histopathology were collated.

RESULTS

Thirty-six patients were included in this study, 16 (44%) undergoing biopsy with both an NCBN and an ECBN, and 20 (56%) with an NCBN only. All 36 NCBN biopsies were 16 gauge. Fifteen (94%) of the ECBN biopsies were 14 gauge, and 1 (6%) was 16 gauge. Thirty-four (94%) of the NCBN and 15 (94%) of the ECBN biopsies were diagnostic. No adverse events were identified.

CONCLUSION

Both the NCBN and ECBN have high diagnostic rates. No adverse events were identified. NCBN could be considered for biopsy of lesions limited by anatomic location or near adjacent critical structures.

Accuracy and Safety of Ultrasound-Guided Core Needle Biopsy of Soft Tissue Tumors in an Outpatient Setting: A Sarcoma Center Analysis of 392 Consecutive Patients

Simple Summary

In patients with unclear soft tissue lesions, treatment planning largely depends on histology. Core needle biopsy is the diagnostic standard in these cases. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate accuracy and safety of ultrasound guided core needle biopsy at a tertiary referral center. We show that ultrasound guided biopsy was feasible as a one stop shop procedure in an outpatient setting in 87.6% of the cases. The rate of conclusive biopsies was 88.5%. After surgical resection, the dignity, tumor type and histopathological grading of the biopsy matched one of the resection specimens in 97.2%, 92.7% and 92.5% of the cases, respectively. Major complications occurred in 0.8% of the cases. With this study, we confirm that ultrasound guided core needle biopsy is safe, effective and can be performed at the first outpatient presentation to speed up the diagnostic and therapeutic cascade in sarcoma patients.

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate diagnostic accuracy, safety and histologic results of ultrasound guided core needle biopsy (CNB) in patients with soft tissue lesions (STL) at a tertiary referral center. Methods: A retrospective analysis of all consecutive patients undergoing ultrasound guided CNB for STL at our sarcoma outpatient service between January 2015 and August 2020 was performed. Results: A total of 392 patients were identified. Main histologic entities were sarcomas, lipomas and desmoid tumors. Biopsy was performed in an outpatient setting in 87.6% of the cases. Conclusive biopsies were obtained in 88.5% of the cases. In patients who underwent surgical resection after CNB, the concordance of dignity, tumor entity and histopathological grading between biopsy and resection specimen were 97.2%, 92.7% and 92.5% respectively. The risk of inconclusive CNB was highest in intraabdominal or retroperitoneal tumors (19.5%) and lowest in lesions at the lower extremity (4.4%). Major complications after CNB occurred in three cases (0.8%). No case of biopsy tract seeding was observed during the study period. Conclusions: Ultrasound guided CNB for STL at first presentation in a dedicated surgical outpatient setting is a safe procedure and yields a high diagnostic accuracy.