Diagnostic Yield of Percutaneous Core Needle Biopsy Immediately After Cryoablation.

PURPOSE: To retrospectively evaluate the diagnostic yield of percutaneous core needle biopsies performed immediately after cryoablation.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Patients with histologically confirmed pathologies underwent percutaneous cryoablation, followed by biopsy after the final freezing cycle. Diagnostic biopsies were defined as those confirming the index pathology, including correct tumor subtyping. Procedural characteristics (number and size of samples, pre-ablation coaxial needle placement, lesion location and size, and image guidance modality) were compared between diagnostic and non-diagnostic biopsies. Image review was performed to evaluate sampling accuracy.

RESULTS

Twenty biopsies (9 in the kidney/renal fossa, 9 in the lung, 2 in superficial soft tissues) were evaluated. 14/20 biopsies (70%) were diagnostic. All non-diagnostic cases were attributed to sampling error and none to tissue quality. None of the examined procedural characteristics differed significantly between the two groups.

CONCLUSION

Percutaneous biopsy immediately following cryoablation is technically feasible. Accurate needle placement within the ice ball is essential, whereas treatment-associated tissue degradation did not compromise the interpretability of successfully sampled specimens. Further optimization of the biopsy technique is needed to improve success rates.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 4, Case Series.