Ultrasound-guided vacuum assisted breast biopsy in the assessment of C3 breast lesions by ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology: Results a

Ultrasound-guided vacuum assisted breast biopsy in the assessment of C3 breast lesions by ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology: Results and costs in comparison with surgery
Francesca Abbate, Lorenzo Bacigalupo, Antuono Latronico, Chiara Trentin, Silvia Penco, Simona Menna, Giuseppe Viale, Enrico Cassano, Massimo Bellomi
The Breast 2009, 18 (2):73-77

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In our experience, US-guided VABB appears to be an accurate and cost-effective modality compared to surgery for the evaluation of lesions which are found to be C3 (indeterminate) at US-guided FNAC. In particular, considering the low percentage of malignant cases in this series (18/138 = 13%), surgical biopsy may be avoided in most cases. This diagnostic approach would allow surgery to be restricted to the treatment to malignant lesions and, in a few selected patients, to confirm or further investigate VABB findings.

Still the choice of using VABB to assess US visible C3 lesions might be excessive as core biopsy might be used as an alternative, more studies comparing VABB and core biopsy to assess C3 cases are needed before VABB may be recommended as the ideal option