OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to determine the sensitivity of CT-guided closed pleural needle biopsy (CPNB) for the histopathologic diagnosis of diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma (DMPM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients with DMPM were studied with CT-guided CPNB. Tumor specimens were classified according to their cell types. RESULTS: In 25 (83.3%) patients, the diagnosis was made by CT-guided CPNB. The remaining five patients were diagnosed by thoracoscopy, thoracotomy, or excisional biopsy of the chest wall mass. Pneumothorax was observed in 9.5% of patients and local seeding of tumor in 21.7% of patients who underwent CPNB. CONCLUSION: Properly performed CPNB under CT guidance may yield an increased sensitivity for the diagnosis of diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma.
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Metintaş et al. (1995) studied this question.