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CHICAGO -- Women who have had a benign breast biopsy do not need interim follow-up and can resume yearly mammography, said Dr. Anthony J. Miller at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
A retrospective review of 139 cases found that 6-month follow-up after a benign biopsy changed management in only 5 cases (3.6%), and resulted in only one cancer finding (0.7%).
"We conclude that 1-year follow-up after benign biopsy result is adequate," said Dr. Miller, a resident at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, where the study was conducted with coinvestigator Dr. William R. Poller.
As a result of the findings, patients with a benign breast biopsy are no longer routinely advised to return to the hospital at 6 months for repeat imaging, but are now seen only at 1 year.
"It was routine at our institution, and to our knowledge there were no scientific data to back it up," Dr. Miller said. "A new radiologist who joined the practice questioned the validity of the 6-month follow-up, and so we undertook the study."
A total of 641 patients underwent sterotactic or ultrasound-guided biopsies between Jan. 1, 1999, and Dec. 31, 2000, and of those who had benign biopsy results, 139 returned for follow-up 3-9 months after the ...