Visualization positioning-guided biopsy of suspicious breast microcalcifications: a retrospective cohort study

At present, most histological evaluations of microcalcifications without a mass are performed using X-ray guided hook wire localization or vacuum-assisted stereotactic biopsy (VASB), but there are still several limitations to these techniques. Therefore, we designed a visualization positioning technique based on three directions of mammography to accurately locate suspected microcalcifications to guide the biopsy.

We retrospectively analyzed consecutive patients with suspicious microcalcifications who underwent visualization positioning-guided biopsy (VPB) from June 1, 2016, to June 1, 2021. The visualization positioning technique was performed using an electronic ruler to measure the vertical distance from the microcalcification core to the vertical lines on mammography.

A total of 133 patients (median age 46 years; range, 22-87 years) who underwent VPB were included in our study. Among the 133 cases of microcalcifications based on pathological results, 104 were benign, 14 were high risk, and 15 were malignant. In 124 (93.2%) patients, microcalcification was confirmed during the first round of VPB specimen analysis. Only 6 (4.5%) and 3 (2.3%) patients underwent second and third extended resections, respectively, as the resected specimens did not contain microcalcifications. Four patients (3.0%) with malignant biopsy results underwent a subsequent operation. Two patients with DCIS underwent mastectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy because of diffuse calcification. One patient had no residual cancer, and the other was upgraded to invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Two patients with IDC underwent breast-conserving surgery and mastectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsy.

VPB can be used to evaluate breast microcalcifications when a mass is not present, making it an effective diagnostic technique.