Ultrasound-guided liver mass biopsy

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to present the histopathological results and demographic characteristics of patients who underwent an ultrasoundguided liver mass biopsy.
METHODS: Medical information of patients who underwent a liver mass biopsy in the interventional radiology clinic between September 2016 and September 2021 were retrieved retrospectively from the hospital data processing system and the interventional radiology archive. Baseline demographic characteristics of the patients and the technical success and the complication rate of the biopsy procedure were investigated.
RESULTS: A total of 283 liver mass biopsies were performed on 162 women and 121 men, with a mean age of 52.3 years. All biopsies were performed under ultrasound guidance with an 18 gauge fully-automatic Tru-Cut biopsy needle. After the biopsy, the histopathological diagnosis was malignant in 95.4% (n=270) and benign in 4.5% (n=13) of the masses. The most common malignant diagnosis was breast cancer metastasis (25.8%) and the most common benign diagnosis were cirrhotic nodule (1.4%) and granulomatous inflammation (1.4%). The technical success rate was 100% in this study. The most common complications were a subcapsular hematoma (n=5) and pain (n=2). There was a significant relationship between subcapsular hematoma formation and the histopathological diagnosis (p<0.05). The subcapsular hematoma was more common in patients with hepatocellular cancer and cirrhotic nodules. No massive bleeding, pneumothorax, or death occurred.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: An ultrasound-guided liver mass biopsy is a safe and effective method because of low complication rates and adequate tissue sampling.