The role of ultrasound-guided transcutaneous tru-cut biopsy in diagnosing untreated and recurrent laryngo-hypopharyngeal masses

Abstract Objective To evaluate the diagnostic performance of Ultrasound-guided Transcutaneous Tru-Cut biopsy (USGTCB) of laryngo-hypopharyngeal masses suspicious for malignancy. Furthermore we investigated whether USGTCB is accurate for both untreated masses and suspected recurrences. Materials and methods From August 2004 to July 2014 we prospectively enrolled 66 patients for a total of 68 USGTCBs: 38 USGTCB were performed for a suspicious untreated mass and in 30 for a suspected recurrence. We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for all procedures and separately for untreated masses and suspected recurrences. Results USGTCB diagnosed 57 malignancies (51 squamous cell carcinomas, 6 other tumors) and 11 benign lesions. There were no false positives reported, whereas five false negatives were observed: two in patients with an untreated mass, three in patients with a suspected recurrence. Overall, the sensitivity of the technique was 91.9% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 82.2–97.3%); the specificity was 100% (95% CI: 54.1–100%); positive and negative predictive values were 100% (95% CI: 93.7–100%) and 54.5% (95% CI: 23.5–83.1%) respectively, with similar performances in untreated masses and suspected recurrences of SCC. Conclusion USGTCB is an effective procedure for the histological diagnosis of laryngo-hypopharyngeal masses suspicious for malignancy in patients showing contraindications to biopsy via microlaryngoscopy under general, with similar performances for untreated masses and suspected recurrences.