Bone tumors of the clavicle: risk of malignancy in the elderly and safe needle biopsy

Abstract

The clavicle is a rare site for bone tumors and little is known from the limited literature about the prognostic factors and management techniques, including biopsy. The method of biopsy is controversial in the clavicle because of the risk of injury to the neighboring neurovascular structures. Twenty patients with clavicular lesions were retrospectively reviewed with clinical, radiological, and histopathological reports. A needle biopsy was planned in the presence of an osteolytic lesion providing nonforceful entry of the needle, detailed knowledge obtained about the local anatomy, and known availability of an oblique angle for the needle entry away from vascular structures. A needle or tru-cut biopsy was performed for preoperative histopathological diagnosis in 6 selected patients with no complications. Considering the histological diagnosis and prevalence of clavicular bone tumors, benign and malignant lesions had a similar prevalence rate; however, malignant tumors occurred in an older (>50 years) population (P=005). Statistical analysis revealed that the best cutoff point for age for discriminating malignant lesions was 50 years with high sensitivity. The main concern for these patients is primary lesion site treatment and symptom palliation. Every clavicular lesion in patients older than 50 years should be considered as malignant unless proven otherwise. This article demonstrates that needle biopsy can be performed safely in selected lesions with particular attention to cross-sectional local anatomy during needle insertion.