Nonpalpable breast lesion localization: limited efficacy of sonography.

Abstract

Use of hand-held, high-resolution breast sonography was attempted to localize for biopsy 11 solid, nonpalpable lesions detected by mammography. Breast sonography is a valuable adjunct to physical examination and mammography in distinguishing simple benign cysts from possibly malignant lesions. Using sonography, only 1 of 4 lesions presenting as poorly defined masses and only 1 of 7 lesions presenting as clusters of tiny calcifications were identified and localized. This 18% rate of success is too low to justify the use of sonography for all patients undergoing needle localization. Mammography remains the procedure of choice for localizing solid, nonpalpable breast masses and clustered calcifications.