Comparative Effectiveness of Frame-Based, Frameless, and Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging–Guided Brain Biopsy Techniques

Objective To compare the diagnostic yield and safety profiles of intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)–guided needle brain biopsy with 2 traditional brain biopsy methods: frame-based and frameless stereotactic brain biopsy. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed of 288 consecutive needle brain biopsies in 277 patients undergoing stereotactic brain biopsy with any of the 3 biopsy methods at Brigham and Women’s Hospital from 2000–2008. Variables including age, sex, history of radiation and previous surgery, pathology results, complications, and postoperative length of hospital stay were analyzed. Results Over the course of 8 years, 288 brain biopsies were performed. Of these, 253 (87.8%) biopsies yielded positive diagnostic tissue. Young age (