OBJECTIVE. A review of wire-guided excision of abnormal lesions viewed on screening mammography.

DESIGN. Retrospective review.

SETTING. Regional hospital, Hong Kong.

PATIENTS. Patients who underwent wire-guided excision of abnormalities visualised on screening mammography between 1999 and 2002.

INTERVENTION. Wire-guided excision.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES. Biopsy rate and positive biopsy rate.

RESULTS. A total of 65 patients underwent wire-guided excision of an abnormal lesion previously identified by screening mammography. Twenty-one were benign, two were lobular carcinoma in situ, and 42 were malignant. Of the latter, 30 were identified as ductal carcinoma in situ, and 12 as invasive breast cancer. Thirty-eight of the 42 malignant cases required further treatment, and 24 of them underwent further operation. Radiological assessment of the 65 patients suggested that nine lesions were probably benign, 31 indeterminate, 20 suspicious, and five malignant. Malignancy was subsequently confirmed by histological examination in 6, 20, 13, and 3 cases of the respective group of radiological assessment.

CONCLUSION. The biopsy rate was approximately 3.7 per 1000 screened women, with results benign in 1.19 per 1000. The positive biopsy rate was 64.6%, and invasion was evident in 28.6%.

Key words: Biopsy; Breast diseases; Breast neoplasms; Mammography

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