Abstract
We examined twenty-nine patients (18 males; 11 females) with soft tissue tumors by needle biopsy and analyzed its usefulness and problems. Fiftenn patients had benign tumors, six had benign tumorous lesions and eight had malignant tumors. In twenty-six cases (89.7%), it was possible to obtain enough tissue mass by needle biopsy for diagnosis but impossible in three cases which had cystic or necrotic lesions. Of the twenty-six cases in which enough tissue was obtained, in twenty-three cases (88.5%) a distinction could be made between benignity and malignancy. It was impossible to establish distinction of malignancy in three cases including those of fibrosarcoma, and of desmoid and myxoid liposarcoma. In twenty-three cases with determined beignity or malignancy, nineteen cases (82.6%) achieved final diagnosis but in four cases open biopsy was necessary. (for diagnosis). There were no major errors in diagnosis of benignity or malignancy. In conclusion, needle biopsy is convenient and a useful method to make histological diagnosis of soft tissue tumors.
