Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026
High-frequency Ultrasound Imaging of Mouse Cervical Lymph Nodes
Published on: July 25, 2015
[Do ultrasound-guided core needle biopsies of lymph nodes allow for subclassification of malignant lymphomas?]
J Demharter1, S Neukirchen, T Wagner
1Klinik für Diagnostische Radiologie und Neuroradiologie, Klinikum Augsburg, Augsburg.
Purpose:
We examined how often ultrasound-guided core needle biopsies of lymph nodes yield subclassification of malignant lymphoma according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria and help to avoid excisional biopsies.
Materials And Methods:
The prospective study included 124 consecutive patients in whom 126 core needle biopsies of lymph nodes were performed to diagnose or rule out malignant lymphoma. If possible, we obtained 5 cylinders with a 14-gauge (G) needle. The pathologists of our institution, partly in cooperation with a lymphoma registry, decided whether a core needle biopsy was sufficient for subclassification or an excisional biopsy was necessary.
Results:
95 of the 126 core needle biopsies (76.6 %) were performed with a 14-G needle. In 101 biopsies (80.2 %), we obtained at least 5 cylinders. In 120 of the 126 core needle biopsies (95 %), malignant lymphoma was diagnosed and subclassified or ruled out. Of the 64 lymphoma, 60 (94 %) were subclassified. Among them were 41 (93 %) of the 44 primary lymphomas and 19 (95 %) of the 20 recurrent lymphomas. In 5 of 126 cases (4 %), an excisional biopsy was necessary.
Conclusion:
With ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy of lymph nodes, lymphoma can be reliably diagnosed and subclassified if preferably 5 cores are obtained with 14-G needles. Excisional biopsy is rarely necessary if core needle biopsy is inconclusive.
