Tru-cut biopsy of palpable breast lesions: a practical option for pre-operative diagnosis in developing countries.
OBJECTIVE
To establish the role of Tru-cut needle biopsy in the pre-operative diagnosis of breast lesions in a developing country.


METHODS
Prospective cross sectional study.


METHODS
112 consecutive patients with palpable breast lesions who had both Tru-cut and excision biopsy as a pre-operative diagnostic procedure.


RESULTS
Four (3.6%) patients had specimens that were inadequate for histological diagnosis. Tru-cut biopsy diagnosed 42 of the remaining 108 as malignant and 66 as benign, but only 40 and 61 respectively were confirmed to be correctly so by excision biopsy. Tru-cut biopsy, therefore, achieved a sensitivity of 88.9% (95% CI 79.7 to 98.1) specificity of 96.8% (95% CI 92.5 to 100) and an over all diagnostic accuracy of 93.5% (95% CI 88.9 to 98.2). There was a false positive rate of 4.8%, a false negative rate of 7.6% and a positive predictive value of 95.2%. The pathologist was able to make a correct specific histological diagnosis in 76.2% of all the adequate Tru-cut samples.


CONCLUSIONS
If Tru-cut biopsy is done instead of excision biopsy, it will sufficiently reduce waiting time and reduce cost (four fold). It is well tolerated by patients. We regard the procedure as a useful adjunct and indeed a practical option for accurate pre-operative diagnosis of palpable breast lesions.
Gukas
I D
ID
Department of Surgery, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria.
Nwana
E J
EJ
Ihezue
C H
CH
Momoh
J T
JT
Obekpa
P O
PO
D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods*; D001941:Breast Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D009549:Nigeria; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity