[Scope and limitations of diagnostics in breast disease--focussing on large core biopsy]

Percutaneous high speed large core biopsy (LCB) using a 14-gauge-needle, supported by sonographic procedures, is a safe and reliable method for the diagnosis of benign and malignant breast lesions in daily practice. All malignant diagnoses (B5)--comprising 44 % (267/604) of cases--were confirmed by subsequent surgical biopsy. This indicates a positive predictive value of 100 %. Evidence for uncertain dignity in LCB (categories B3 and B4) was found in 3 % of our cases (20/604), requiring open breast surgery for further clarification. This is strongly supported by the fact that 22 % of B3 and 82 % of B4 cases were identified as carcinomas in subsequent surgery. In 9 % of our cases (53/604), histology was only questionably representative (category B1) without cancer in the follow-up. In the B2-category--which comprised nearly 44 % of all cases (n = 263)--the positive predictive value ranged at 2 %. For clinical investigation, mammography, breast ultrasound and LCB the sensitivity were at 79 %, 92 %, 92 % and 98 %, respectively. The specificity of clinical findings, mammography, breast ultrasound and LCB ranged at 88 %, 67 %, 79 % and 99 %, respectively. The combination of the 3 methods: clinical findings, mammography and breast ultrasound (leading to a "total diagnostic score" provided a sensitivity and specificity of 97 % and 52 %. LCB revealed an excellent specificity of 99 %. Therefore, large core biopsy takes up a definite and reliable place in procedures of breast diagnostics, thereby preventing a high number of unnecessary open surgical interventions.