assessment of ultrasound / radio-guided occult lesion localization in non-palpable breast lesions

Objective(s): controversy exists about the localization of non-palpable breast lesions. in many countries, the gold standard for the diagnosis of these lesions is needle localization due to its accuracy. this study sought to compare the ultrasoundand radio-guided occult lesion localization (roll) as a simple method with the conventional procedures in terms of their diagnostic power. methods: this study was conducted on 94 patients with non-palpable breast lesions detected by ultrasonography and localized by the combination of ultrasonography and using radiopharmaceuticals. one to ten hours prior to surgery, 0.1-0.2 ml (equivalent to 0.5-1 mci) of tc-99m-phytate was injected to the lesion under the guidance of ultrasonography. then, the lesion was localized using a hand-held gamma probe, and excision of the lesion was performed according to its radioactivity signal. data analysis was performed using spss, version 16. results: benign and malignant pathologic results were observed in 77 (81.9%) and 17 (18.1%) of the patients, respectively, and the mean volume of the excised tissue was 26.29±27 mm³. 79 patients had a solitary lesion (84%), 55 in the left breast (58.5%) and 39 in superolateral quadrant (41.5%). the mean size of the lesions was 15.7 mm in diameter (ranging from 4 to 34 mm). additionally, there was a need to secondary surgery in 3 (3.2%) patients and inappropriate localization in 6 (6.4%) patients (subcutaneous or intra-ductal spread of radiodrug). conclusion: combination of ultrasound- and radio-guided localization methods for localizing non-palpable breast lesions is a simple and acceptable method for localization with no significant complications. for radio-drug spread and subsequent excessive excised tissue volume, subcutaneous and intra-ductal lesions are not suitable indication for roll.