Role of needle aspiration in reducing the number of unnecessary breast biopsies.
The accuracy of the results obtained from 2334 open breast biopsies performed during a 9-year period at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto are reviewed. With meticulous follow-up and the liberal use of needle aspiration, the senior author (A.A.B.) noted a progressive increase in his malignant to benign ratio, from 18% in 1970 to as high as 56% near the end of the study. In contrast, the overall hospital ratio of malignant to benign breast biopsies obtained over the same decade remained stationary at 25%. A low ratio implies unnecessary hospital admissions and biopsies, all adding to the patient's anxiety. The authors conclude that a currently acceptable malignant to benign ratio is 1 to 3 and that with the use of fine-needle aspiration the number of surgical biopsies can be reduced, minimizing patient anxiety and morbidity, and increasing the efficiency of hospital bed use.