SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF US-GUIDED BREAST BIOPSIES WITH 16 G NEEDLE

The purpose is to describe the safety and efficacy of biopsy of a breast mass using ultrasound guidance. The breast cancer histological findings were compared with epidemiological data. The presence of statistically significant differences was evaluated based on the size of the nodule. 1000 biopsies of the total 1500 performed from January 2018 to August 2020 were included; the repetitions for inadequate withdrawal occurred at 3.6% (36/1000). Major complications were never observed. There were two cases (0.2%) of minor bleeding. The frequency of histotypes of carcinoma detected is in agreement with recent epidemiological studies. No statistically significant differences were observed based on nodule size. In conclusion, the 16G needle sampling biopsy procedure is a safe and effective procedure for characterization of indeterminate breast mass.