Southwestern Surgical Congress
Core needle biopsy is a safe and accurate initial diagnostic procedure for suspected lymphoma

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2014.09.001Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

Excisional biopsy is currently recommended for the analysis of lymphadenopathy suspicious for lymphoma. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of image-guided core needle biopsy (IGCNB) for the diagnosis of lymphoma using a standard protocol for tissue acquisition and analysis.

Methods

All IGCNBs from 2008 to 2014 performed under the study protocol were included in analysis. Demographics, pathology results, additional studies, and follow-up information were recorded.

Results

Seventy-three IGCNBs were performed in 71 consecutive patients. Lymphoma was diagnosed in 37 patients (51%). All 37 patients (100%) were subtyped and treated based on IGCNB results. The remaining 36 IGCNBs in 34 patients did not have subsequent diagnosis of lymphoma in a mean follow-up of 15 months (range, 0 to 54 months). There were no complications.

Conclusions

IGCNB performed under a standard protocol is effective and safe and should be considered as an initial diagnostic tool for the evaluation of lymphadenopathy suspicious for lymphoma.

Section snippets

Methods

Institutional review board approval was obtained before the initiation of this study. All patients that were referred to the outpatient general surgical service at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center between April 2008 and January 2014 for biopsy of cervical, axillary, or groin lymph nodes for suspected lymphoma were included in this study. Patients with mediastinal or intra-abdominal lymphadenopathy were excluded, as these areas were inaccessible to an ultrasound-guided core needle approach. Patients

Results

A total of 73 ultrasound-guided core needle biopsies were performed in 71 consecutive patients after the standardized protocol. The mean age of the group was 43.1 years (range, 18 to 71 years) and 40 (56%) were female. The number of biopsies per site were as follows: 46 in the axilla, 19 in the groin, and 8 in the supraclavicular or cervical region. Two additional patients evaluated with ultrasound were determined to be unsuitable candidates for image-guided core needle biopsy because of the

Comment

The results of this study further confirm that image-guided core needle biopsy provides sufficient tissue for the diagnostic evaluation of lymphadenopathy suspicious for lymphoma when a standard protocol is used. All diagnoses of lymphoma were made on the initial core biopsy specimens, and definitive therapy was initiated based on these results. Further excisional biopsy was requested by the primary provider and/or consulting hematologist in 4 patients whose needle biopsy results were not

References (16)

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

This manuscript has been seen and approved by all the authors, and the material presented in this manuscript is previously unpublished.

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