Think Pinker

If you discover a suspect lump or legion during your breast self examination, your physician discovers something suspicious, or your mammogram finds a suspect mass, the next step is a biopsy to further investigate the lesion.

A fine needle aspiration biopsy is the most common procedure used to determine just what type of breast lump you are dealing with. There are other biopsies including an excision biopsy and a core biopsy. All have advantages and disadvantages. Let’s have a look at

Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy

Advantages

• Painless
• Rapid
• Inexpensive
• No cutting of the skin

Disadvantages

• May insufficient to make a diagnosis
• Can’t determine invasive from insitu
• False negative are high
• Can only distinguish benign cancer

Core Biopsy

Advantages

• Painless
• Rapid
• Inexpensive
• No cutting of the skin

Disadvantages

• False negative are high
• Does not provide a full pathological diagnosis

Excision Biopsy

Advantages

• Provides a complete pathological diagnosis
• Can also be the lumpectomy surgery (all in one)
• No false negative results
• No problem with insufficient material

Disadvantages

• Most expensive of the three procedures
• Most invasive of the three procedures
• Less appealing cosmetically