Breast Biopsy

Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Medical Editor: William C. Shiel, Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

• What is a breast biopsy?
• What is the purpose of a breast biopsy?
• What specialties of physicians and practitioners do breast biopsies?
• Who should have a breast biopsy?
• In what setting is the breast biopsy done?
• What may a benign result indicate?
• How is a suspicious breast growth discovered?
• What should the patient tell the physician about the growth?
• How does a physician confirm the presence of a breast growth?
• Is anesthesia needed for a biopsy?
• What about pain and complications?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of non-surgical procedures versus surgical breast biopsies?
• What are the different types of breast biopsy procedures and what do they involve?
• How is a fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) done?
• How is a core needle biopsy (CNB) done?
• How is a vacuum-assisted breast biopsy done?
• How is an excision biopsy of the breast done?
• What is the time frame for receiving the results of a breast biopsy?
• Breast Biopsy At A Glance

What is a breast biopsy?

A breast biopsy is a procedure in which part or all of a suspicious breast growth is removed and examined, usually for the presence of cancer. The growth sample is suctioned out through a needle or cut out using a surgical procedure. The sample is then examined and evaluated under a microscope by a pathologist to identify non-cancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant) tissue.

Words used to refer to the abnormal area or growth before and after diagnosis may include lump, mass, lesion, and tumor.

What is the purpose of a breast biopsy?

The basic aim of a breast biopsy is to determine whether or not a worrisome lump is cancer and, if it is cancer, what type it is. When no cancer is detected, the diagnosis of a benign or harmless lump is reassuring.

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