Histologic differential diagnosis of focal liver lesions by ultrasonically guided fine needle biopsy

Ultrasonically guided fine needle biopsies were carried out in 84 patients with focal liver lesions and were subsequently evaluated histologically. A correct diagnosis of malignancy was made in 46 of 52 patients with proven hepatic malignancy, showing an overall accuracy of 93%. The specificity of the procedure was 100%. Such histological examination not only enables the differentiation between primary and secondary hepatic malignancy; it has the additional advantage of making a more precise tumour description and at the same time it pinpoints the primary site of the tumour.