Embargoed for Release September 21, 2000, after 5:00 p.m. EST
For information, contact: Cynthia C. Rosso[email protected]Phone: (800) 438-2777 or (703) 729-3353Fax: (703) 729-4839http://www.arrs.org
Clips Mark the Spot for Better Diagnosis of Breast Lesions
Are there two lesions or just one showing up in two radiologic exams of the breast? When a suspicious nodule is found during a routine mammogram and a lesion also appears on a sonogram of the same region of the breast, doctors need a way to prove the two lesions are not the same structure. This proof can be more difficult to obtain when the lesion proves to be solid and a core needle biopsy must be performed, but a clip marking the location of the lesion makes the follow-up mammogram much easier to read.
Mark A. Guenin, a doctor of radiology with The Women's Imaging Center, Tristan Associates, in Harrisburg, PA, reports in the October issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology that for three patients, a clip embedded during a sonographically guided needle biopsy helped the subsequent mammogram prove in each case that the lesions were one and the same. For two other patients, the clips made it evident that there were two separate lesions. Such results can save patients from having to undergo an additional biopsy or provide vital information to spur further study of the second lesion.
The clip, originally devised as a tissue marker for use during stereotactic biopsy of a lesion, thus also serves as a marker for correlation of findings on mammograms and sonograms. Guenin wrote that "although the correlation of a mammographic and sonographic abnormality is usually straightforward for an experienced radiologist, there are occasions when it is unclear whether the different modalities are depicting one abnormality or two." His use of the tissue marker helps clear up the confusion.
The American Journal of Roentgenology is a monthly publication of the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS), the first and oldest radiological society in America. Established in 1900, the Society has been a forum for progress in radiology since shortly after the discovery of the X ray and is dedicated to the goal of the advancement of medicine through the science of radiology and its allied sciences. The ARRS headquarters is located at 44211 Slatestone Ct., Leesburg, VA 20176-5109.
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