Biopsies

If mammography or any other screening method reveals a mass or lesion that a physician believes may be cancerous, a biopsy will be performed to remove a sample of the suspicious tissue. The sample is then sent to a laboratory for examination by a pathologist, who will determine whether it is benign or cancerous.

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The tissue sample may be removed by:

• Fine-needle aspiration biopsy: In a procedure resembling a blood draw, a fine, hollow needle is inserted into a lump or lesion and cells are drawn out for evaluation. This is usually performed when a fluid-filled mass is seen on an ultrasound image or your doctor detects a lesion during a clinical breast exam.
• Core needle biopsy: A hollow needle is used to take several rice-grain-size cores of tissue. With this type of biopsy, tissue structure as well as cells can be evaluated. When a solid mass has been detected ultrasound may be used to guide the placement of the needle.
• Stereotactic biopsy: When a suspicious area cannot be located by feel or ultrasound but is visible through mammography, the physician uses a mammogram to locate the area and perform a core needle biopsy.
• Surgical biopsy: All or part of the suspicious tissues may be removed by surgery. Total removal of the tissue is called an excisional biopsy; and partial removal is called an incisional biopsy.

This section also includes a discussion of the sentinel-node biopsy, which is used to gauge whether a cancer has spread to the underarm lymph nodes.