Abstract: Objective To study the incidence of implantation metastasis of breast cancer in vacuum-assisted breast biopsy
(VABB) needle tract in Chinese patients and evaluate the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on needle tract metastasis
following VABB. Methods The breast cancer patients with established diagnosis by VABB were divided into two groups to
receive open surgery or neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to open surgery. The incidence of needle tract metastasis, disease-free
survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared between the two groups. Results A total of 214 patients were enrolled,
among whom 94 directly underwent surgeries and 120 had neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery. The two groups
showed no significant differences in the incidence of needle tract metastasis (3.2% vs 0.8%, P=0.206), DFS (P=0.221), or OS (P=
0.531). Conclusion The incidence of needle tract metastasis is low after VABB, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy does not
increase this risk.