Mammograms are used to screen for breast cancer. In some cases, the mammograms or other radiologic exams may not fully clarify what is happening in the breast. All suspicious mammograms or breast lumps are not necessarily indicative of cancer; however, the physician often performs a biopsy to find out if the tissue is malignant or benign.
Aspiration Biopsy
According to the American Cancer Society, during a fine-needle aspiration biopsy, the physician places a thin needle into the suspicious tissue and removes a small amount of tissue or fluid. The physician may use an ultrasound to help guide the needle into the correct place. This procedure does not require an incision and can be performed as an outpatient procedure with local anesthesia. The material that is removed is sent to the pathology lab to be evaluated under a microscope.
Needle Biopsy
In a core needle biopsy, the surgeon uses a larger needle to remove tissue from the area in question. As noted on the American Cancer Society website, this needle removes a small core of tissue up to 1/8 inch in diameter. Since this piece of tissue is larger, this procedure is more likely to result in a definitive diagnosis. A core needle biopsy is an outpatient procedure.
Vacuum-Assisted Biopsy
As reported on BreastCancer.org, vacuum-assisted biopsy is one of the newer diagnostic procedures available for breast cancer. In this process, a probe is inserted in to the breast while guided by either a mammogram or ultrasound; a vacuum pulls the tissue into the probe and takes a sample. The surgeon can take several samples of the suspicious area through the one placement of the probe. A vacuum-assisted biopsy is an outpatient procedure. Because of the size of the probe, no stitches are needed.
Surgical Biopsy
In a surgical or open biopsy, the surgeon makes a small incision in the breast and removes a portion of the mass, which is also known as an incisional biopsy. Alternatively, the surgeon might remove the entire mass, which is called an excisional biopsy. A surgical biopsy is an outpatient procedure; however, since an incision is made in the skin, the patient will need some stitches and will have to follow up with the surgeon for removal.
Sentinel Node Biopsy
In order to determine if there has been any spread of cancer cells, the surgeon will sometimes remove some lymph nodes closest to the lump. This is called a sentinel node biopsy. Typically, the surgeon will perform this procedure after a definite diagnosis of breast cancer has been made, but occasionally the surgeon may complete this biopsy during the diagnosis stage.
