Introduction:
Due to advances in treatment options for advanced ovarian or peritoneal malignancies,
there is a need for histologic sampling prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for cytoreduction.
A biopsy may also be indicated in patients with a history of gynecologic malignancy
and a suspected disease recurrence. The aim of our study was to retrospectively evaluate
the indications, feasibility, diagnostic accuracy and safety of CNB performed in our
gynecologic cancer center.
Material and Methods:
We reviewed the medical records of eight patients who underwent transvaginal or transabdominal
US-guided core biopsy between May 2017 and April 2018. All biopsies were performed
with an automatic biopsy gun (BARD®) after a detailed gynecologic ultrasound and informed
consent. For the transvaginal approach, an attached needle guide and 18 Gauge/25 cm
needles was used. Transabdominal biopsies were performed under local anesthesia with
14 – 16 Gauge/15 – 20 cm needles. We evaluated the indications, diagnostic accuracy
and complication rate of the procedures.
Results:
Six transvaginal and two transabdominal CNBs were performed during the study period.
Indications for CNB were patients with advanced ovarian, primary inoperable malignancies
(n = 3), inoperable patients due to comorbidities (n = 2) and patients with suspicion
of metastases or recurrence of gynecologic malignancies (n = 3). Representative samples
were obtained in all cases. All procedures were tolerated with minimal discomfort
on an outpatient basis. Of the 8 lesions, 7 were confirmed to be either benign (n
= 2) or malignant (n = 5). One lesion was not histopathologically classified after
biopsy. A CT scan guided biopsy showed adiponecrosis. No complications occurred during
or after CNB procedures.
Conclusion:
Transvaginal and transabdominal ultrasound guided biopsy seems to be a feasible and
safe procedure for histopathologic diagnosis of pelvic masses.
