Navigation Guided Biopsy Is as Effective as Frame-Based Stereotactic Biopsy

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery
• Neurology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Stereotactic biopsy is a standard neurosurgical procedure.
• Navigation-guided biopsy, particularly frameless systems, has emerged as a viable alternative.
• Prior research suggests frameless stereotactic biopsy matches frame-based methods in efficacy and safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic yield of frameless intracranial biopsy.
• To assess the complication rate associated with frameless navigation-guided biopsy.
• To compare these outcomes with traditional frame-based stereotactic biopsy.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of medical records and imaging for patients undergoing biopsy between March 2014 and April 2022.
• Analysis of diagnostic yield and post-operative complications for both frameless and frame-based stereotactic biopsies.
• Statistical comparison of diagnostic rates between the two biopsy techniques.

Main Results:

• Forty-two frameless biopsies demonstrated a 100% diagnostic yield for various intracranial lesions, including CNS lymphoma and glioblastoma.
• A 2.4% rate of asymptomatic intracerebral hematoma was observed post-frameless biopsy.
• Frame-based biopsy in 30 patients yielded 96.7% diagnostic accuracy, with no significant difference compared to frameless methods (p=0.916).

Conclusions:

• Frameless navigation-guided biopsy is equally effective and safe as frame-based stereotactic biopsy.
• The study suggests frameless biopsy can replace frame-based techniques for intracranial biopsies.
• Further research is recommended to validate these findings across a broader patient population.