Biopsies

General information about biopsies

In recent years there has been a rapid development in the invasive diagnostic approach to breast lesions. All modern and fully equipped breast centers are internationally accepted to investigate with percutaneous biopsy all lesions that are suspected of malignancy (BI-RADS 4 and 5) and to plan open surgical biopsy only where it is not technically possible to perform percutaneous biopsy. The radiologist can choose the type of biopsy he will use from many different ones. In order to decide the appropriate type of biopsy, the following parameters should be considered: the size of the lesion, whether the lesion is palpable or non-palpable, its anatomical location, whether it is shown on the mammogram or ultrasound or only one of the two examinations, the morphology of the lesion, for example if it concerns solid lesion or microcalcifications and the size of the breasts.

Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA)

The fine-needle aspiration technique uses exactly what the technique suggests, namely a fine needle to remove fluid from a bladder or to obtain cells from a solid lesion. If the lesion can not be felt, then make sure that the tip of the needle is in the center of the lesion when using the material using ultrasound. With this technique, completely painless and of very short duration, there is no risk of complications. However, the main disadvantage of the method is its low diagnostic reliability, which ranges from 70% -96%. This obliges the doctor not to rely on the test result if it is negative unless it is positive for malignancy.

Core Biopsy

With the Core Biopsy technique, which is applied to both palpable and non-palpable lesions, tissue fragments are obtained from the suspicious area under local anesthesia. As in the technique of puncture, if the lesions are not palpable, guided Core Biopsy is applied with the guidance of an ultrasound or with a special system in the mammogram – stereotaxic system. This technique is applied to all solid lesions. Tissue aspiration biopsy is preferred for the investigation of suspected microcalcifications.

For each lesion, four to five pieces of tissue are taken and sent for histological examination.

Core Biopsy type biopsy gives results as safe and reliable as those of open surgical biopsy.

Method benefits

• The test takes about half an hour.
• No hospitalization required.
• The woman does not receive general anesthesia and returns home immediately.
• Unnecessary surgeries are avoided.
• In case the biopsy result is positive for breast malignancy, it helps the surgeon to plan the most appropriate surgical approach.
• It enables the patient and the doctor to decide on the most appropriate treatment for each case if the biopsy gives a positive result.