Ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted breast biopsy with a small-caliber device: A multicenter consecutive study of 162 biopsied lesions

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to analyze technical and diagnostic potential, and safety of the small-caliber vacuum-assisted biopsy (SCVAB) device in a multicenter consecutive study taking into consideration the type and location of breast lesion. METHODS: We collected data from 5 breast imaging centers where radiologists used the SCVAB device for biopsies in 162 patients. We analyzed the conditions for using the SCVAB device according to the characteristics of the lesions, the volume of excision, and the analyzability obtained by biopsy samples. RESULTS: The biopsies of 80 circumscribed masses, 61 complex lesions, and 24 microcalcification foci were included in the study. The reasons for choosing SCVAB as an initial technique were identified. A total of 47 lesions were removed with SCVAB; among them, 24 lesions were initially chosen for total excision. SCVAB was used as a second-choice biopsy method after core-needle biopsy failure in 20 cases. If SCVAB had not been available, vacuum-assisted biopsy would have been the most frequently used technique (106 under ultrasound, and 18 under stereotactical guidance). CONCLUSIONS: The SCVAB system is an alternative to classical vacuum biopsy, enabling representative samples to be obtained from lesions that are difficult to access, complex, small, or in cases of unsuccessful previous biopsy. The SCVAB system was determined as the chosen technique by the radiologists in this study due to feasibility, ergonomics and absence of side effects detected in this study.