title: Preoperative ultrasound-guided needle biopsy of 63 uterine tumors having high signal intensity upon T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The differential diagnosis between uterine sarcoma and benign leiomyoma is difficult when made only by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); it usually requires an additional preoperative diagnostic procedure. We report our results using ultrasound-guided needle biopsy for these types of uterine tumors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ultrasound-guided needle biopsy was performed on 63 patients with uterine smooth muscle tumors suspected of malignancy by MRI. We compared the results of presurgical biopsy against the postsurgical pathology of the tumor.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 63 patients with a high signal intensity of the uterine tumor on T2-weighted MRI (1 case was undetermined), 12 cases (19.3%) were diagnosed by the needle biopsy as malignant, and 51 cases (80.6%) were benign. Among the 12 diagnosed as malignant tumors, 11 had surgery performed, and one was treated with chemotherapy. Among the 51 patients diagnosed with a benign tumor, 27 had surgery performed, and 24 were put on a wait-and-see clinical follow-up schedule. One of the 27 surgical patients with a benign tumor had a postsurgical diagnosis of a low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma. In the 38 cases where surgery was performed, we found the sensitivity, specificity, and the positive and negative predictive values of the needle biopsy were 91.7%, 100%, 100%, and 96.2%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ultrasound-guided needle biopsy may be a reliable preoperative diagnostic procedure for uterine tumors with suspected malignancy.
authors.affiliation: Departments of *Obstetrics and Gynecology, and †Radiology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: Katsunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kashima
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asatani
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishino
authors.forename: Nobumichi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sekine
authors.forename: Takehiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Serikawa
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Enomoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007889:Leiomyoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000145:classification / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D055815:Young Adult