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Biopsy

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Performed as an outpatient procedure, fine-needle aspiration biopsy may be used to:

distinguish cysts from solid lumps
obtain cells for cytology

The main problem with the technique is the rate of:

false positives; 1-3% of all cases and mainly due to:
- hypercellular fibroma cells interpreted as malignant
- effect of hormones on breast:
  - HRT
  - pregnancy
  - lactation
false negatives; 10-20% of all aspirates; mainly due to:
- aspiration track does not encounter malignant cells
- some forms of carcinoma are particularly acellular

If fine needle aspiration fails or is negative a core-needle biopsy may be performed. If core needle biopsy is negative, an open biopsy can be undertaken. In some situations, surgeons may choose to proceed directly from fine-needle aspiration to open biopsy. Frozen section histology of the lump intra-operatively may dictate the extent of excision performed.

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Biopsy

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