title: Thermal damage of the specimen during breast biopsy with the use of the Breast Lesion Excision System: does it affect diagnosis?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Stereotactic vacuum assisted breast biopsy (VABB) procedures remain of key importance in the diagnostic evaluation of suspicious non-palpable mammographic lesions. The Breast Lesion Excision System(®) (BLES) is an image-guided percutaneous biopsy method that utilizes radiofrequency (RF) in order to retrieve an intact-tissue biopsy specimen. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of RF application on the tissue specimen and the possible interference with the histopathologic results.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study we included 265 patients with suspicious non-palpable mammographic lesions who underwent 273 stereotactic VABB procedures using the BLES. All biopsies were performed by the same surgical-radiology team under local anesthesia. The specimen thermal damage was classified according to the pathology report in 3 categories: Severe (extensive thermal damage or inability to diagnose), medium (ability to diagnose but either circumferential damage >1.5 mm or diffuse areas of thermal damage) and mild (circumferential thermal damage <1.5 mm but >0.5 mm).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Radiofrequency-associated thermal damage of the specimen was observed in 14 cases (5.13 %), and was classified as severe in 5, medium in 5, and mild in 4 specimens. Within the group of RF damaged specimens, we found a significant (p < 0.05) positive correlation between fat cell content and classification of thermal damage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although thermal damage is of concern during BLES breast biopsy, the incidence is low, and the outcome of the histopathologic assessment is not affected even in severely damaged specimens. Increased thermal damage seems to correlate with higher fat cell content of the specimen.
authors.affiliation: Breast Unit, 1st Propaedeutic Surgical Clinic, Hippocratio General Hospital, University of Athens, P. Perimeni 1-2, Nea Smyrni, 17121, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Wasim Ali
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Al-Harethee
authors.forename: Vasileios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kalles
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Papapanagiotou
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matiatou
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Georgiou
authors.forename: Afrodite
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nonni
authors.forename: Dimitra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Koulocheri
authors.forename: Paraskevi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liakou
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Theodoropoulos
authors.forename: George C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Zografos
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D061705:Image-Guided Biopsy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011846:Radio Waves / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013238:Stereotaxic Techniques; D014618:Vacuum