Effectiveness of ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted excision for treating benign breast lesions

Ultrasound‑guided vacuum-assisted excision (UGVAE) and breast biopsy are widely used for the diagnosis and treatment of both benign and suspicious breast lesions. In this retrospective study, we aimed to determine the safety of UGVAE for benign breast lesions and provide guidance for clinical practice.

We analyzed clinical and pathological data of female patients who had undergone UGVAE between January 2015 and December 2017 at our institution. All breast lesions were categorized according to the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) before performing UGVAE.

In our study cohort, UGVAE was used to resect 10,378 breast lesions from 5789 patients, and selected clinical and histopathological data were analyzed. The most common adverse events were postoperative bleeding (0.24%) and skin hypersensitivity (0.67%). The residual lesion rate was 2.27%. Fibroadenomas accounted for most of the benign lesions (7932 of 10,193; 77.82%). Breast cancer was diagnosed in 150 lesions from 128 patients. Multivariable binary logistic regression analyses showed that older age (odds ratio [OR] = 2.034, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.668-2.480, p < 0.001), higher BI-RADS category (OR = 9.514, 95% CI: 6.790-13.332, p < 0.001), and larger legion size (OR = 1.048, 95% CI: 1.019-1.077, p = 0.001) were associated with an increased likelihood of breast cancer. Ninety-six patients with breast cancer had undergone follow-up treatment, achieving a 3-year disease-free survival rate of 97.2% and a 3-year overall survival rate of 100%.

UGVAE is a safe and effective means of removing benign breast lesions, causing minimal postoperative trauma and fewer complications compared with open surgery. Moreover, UGVAE had little impact on the follow-up treatment and survival of patients diagnosed with breast cancer.