A breast biopsy is usually done after a suspicious lesion is discovered on either mammography or ultrasound to get tissue for pathological diagnosis.[1] Several methods for a breast biopsy now exist.[2] The most appropriate method of biopsy for a patient depends upon a variety of factors, including the size, location, appearance and characteristics of the abnormality.[3] The different types of breast biopsies include fine-needle aspiration (FNA), vacuum-assisted biopsy, core needle biopsy, and surgical excision biopsy.[3][4][5] Breast biopsies can be done utilizing ultrasound, MRI or a stereotactic biopsy imaging guidance.[2][5][4][6] Vacuum assisted biopsies are typically done using stereotactic techniques when the suspicious lesion can only be seen on mammography.[5] On average, 5–10 biopsies of a suspicious breast lesion will lead to the diagnosis of one case of breast cancer.[7] Needle biopsies have largely replaced open surgical biopsies in the initial assessment of imaging as well as palpable abnormalities in the breast.[8]
^Jain A, Khalid M, Qureshi MM, Georgian-Smith D, Kaplan JA, Buch K, Grinstaff MW, Hirsch AE, Hines NL, Anderson SW, Gallagher KM, Bates DD, Bloch BN (November 2017). "Stereotactic core needle breast biopsy marker migration: An analysis of factors contributing to immediate marker migration". European Radiology. 27 (11): 4797–4803. doi:10.1007/s00330-017-4851-7. PMID28526892. S2CID8433769.
^ abFernández-García P, Marco-Doménech SF, Lizán-Tudela L, Ibáñez-Gual MV, Navarro-Ballester A, Casanovas-Feliu E (January 2017). "The cost effectiveness of vacuum-assisted versus core-needle versus surgical biopsy of breast lesions". Radiologia. 59 (1): 40–46. doi:10.1016/j.rx.2016.09.006. PMID27865561.