CLINICAL VALUE OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING-GUIDED CORE NEEDLE AND VACUUM-ASSISTED BREAST BIOPSIES

Breast cancer is the most common oncological disease in women. When changes in the breasts are not visible on an ultrasound or mammogram, they can be detected by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. A biopsy of the breast tissue is performed to examine the changes and predict the most suitable further treatment method. Most often, a core needle biopsy is performed under ultrasound or mammography guidance, but if lesions are only visible on MRI images, the biopsy should be performed under MRI control. MRI-guided biopsy is a relatively new diagnostic method. The aim of our study was to assess the clinical value of MRI-guided core nee­dle and vacuum-assisted core needle breast biopsies. We conducted a systematic literature analysis. Articles were retrieved from PubMed and ClinicalKey electronic data­bases. Eligible articles were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. 12 articles were included from 512 publications. We conclude that MRI -guided core needle and vacuum-assissted core needle biopsies are a safe and effective method of taking a breast tissue biopsy, allowing you to assess abnormalities that are not visible on mammography or ultrasound. MRI-guided biopsy is appropriate for all patients with suspicious lesions seen only on MRI, irrespective of breast cancer risk, as ma­lignant lesions are likely to be found in ~21% of patients. MRI-guided core needle biopsies have a low compli­cation rate. The diagnostic performance of MRI-guided core needle biopsy (sensitivity ~ 93%) is comparable to the diagnostic performance of other image-guided breast biopsy techniques.