Ultrasound-Guided Core Biopsy for Tissue Diagnosis in Pediatric Oncology: 16-Year Experience with 597 Biopsies
2Surgery, Rambam Health Care Campus, Israel
3Pediatric Oncology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Israel
4Faculty of Medicine, Technion Institute of Technology, Israel
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report our accumulated 16-year experience with CNB; discuss the availability, safety, and diagnostic accuracy of the procedure and the adequacy of ancillary testing; and compare our findings with the available literature.
Methods: Pediatric ultrasound-guided CNBs performed in our hospital between 2003 and 2019 were retrospectively studied.
Results: 597 biopsies were performed in 531 patients. Median time between the biopsy request and the procedure was 1 day. Of 432 biopsies performed in patients with malignancies, 12 (2.8%) had false-negative results. In 165 cases of benign pathologic findings, all had true-negative results. Ancillary testing was adequate in all malignant cases. Overall sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy rates were 97.2%, 100%, and 98.0%, respectively.
Conclusion: Our experience shows that ultrasound-guided CNB for suspected malignancy in pediatric patients has a high safety profile, availability, and accuracy rate; and has the potential to become the procedure of choice.