Having a Breast Biopsy 

A Guide for Women and Their Families
Fast Facts

n Most women who have a breast biopsy do not have breast cancer.

About 4 out of every 5 breast biopsies are negative for cancer.

n For a breast biopsy, a small amount of tissue is taken out. A

biopsy tells if a lump or suspicious area is cancer.

n There are two main kinds of breast biopsies: surgical biopsy and

core-needle biopsy. 

n Side effects are less common with core-needle biopsy than with

surgical biopsy.

Inside

Introduction ............................................................................................1

Finding Breast Cancer ............................................................................2

What Is a Breast Biopsy? ........................................................................3

Kinds of Breast Biopsy ............................................................................3

Research About Breast Biopsy ..............................................................5

Biopsy Results ..........................................................................................6

Questions for Your Doctor or Nurse ....................................................7
What does this guide cover?

This guide can help you talk with your doctor or nurse about breast

biopsies. If you have a breast lump or a suspicious area on your

mammogram, a breast biopsy tells if it is cancer. This guide talks

about the different kinds of biopsies. It will tell you what to expect if

you have a breast biopsy.

This guide covers the research about how well different kinds of

biopsies work to find cancer. It also talks about possible side effects.

It is based on a government-funded review of research reports about

breast biopsy.

What is not covered in this guide?

This guide does not cover a kind of breast biopsy called fine needle

biopsy. It was not included in the research review, and it is not used

as often. This guide does not talk about breast biopsies for men,

because the research did not include men. It also does not talk about

treatments for breast cancer.

Introduction 
Screening

Screening for breast cancer increases the chance of surviving breast

cancer. Screening tests can find cancers before they cause symptoms

and when they are most treatable. Two common tests are used to

screen for breast cancer.

Mammogram

A mammogram (MAM-mo-gram) is a breast x-ray. It looks for

suspicious changes in breast tissue. It can detect cancers even when

they are too small to be felt. A mammogram is the best screening test

for breast cancer. 

Breast exam by your doctor or nurse 

This is usually part of a woman’s yearly exam. But if you find a breast

lump or another change that worries you, don’t wait. Make an

appointment with your doctor or nurse to have it checked. 

Follow-up tests

When a suspicious area on a mammogram or a lump is found, your

doctor will probably send you for more tests. Your doctor might send

you for another mammogram or a breast ultrasound. These tests tell

your doctor if you need a biopsy. Most women who have further tests

do not need a biopsy. 

Biopsy

If the test results are still suspicious, your doctor will recommend a

biopsy. 

Finding Breast Cancer

2
A biopsy is the only test that can tell for sure if a suspicious area is

cancer. During a breast biopsy, the doctor removes a small amount of

tissue from the breast.

There are two main kinds of breast biopsies. One is called surgical

biopsy. The other is called core-needle biopsy. 

The kind of breast biopsy a doctor recommends may depend on what

the suspicious area looks like. It also might depend on the size and

where it is located in the breast. 

After the biopsy, the tissue is sent to a doctor who will look at the

tissue under a microscope. This doctor, called a pathologist (puhTHOL-o-jist), looks for tissue changes. The pathology report tells if

there is cancer or not. It takes about a week to get the report. 

What Is a Breast Biopsy?

Kinds of Breast Biopsy

3

Surgical biopsy 

A surgical biopsy is usually done using local anesthesia (an-essTHEE-zhuh). Local anesthesia means that the breast will be numbed.

You will have an IV and may have medicine to make you drowsy.

The surgeon makes a 1- to 2-inch cut on the breast and removes part

or all of the suspicious tissue. Some of the tissue around it also may

be taken out. 

A radiologist is a doctor who specializes in medical imaging (like 

x-rays and mammograms). If the suspicious area can be seen on

mammogram or ultrasound but can’t be felt, a radiologist usually

inserts a thin wire to mark the spot for the surgeon before the biopsy. 
Core-Needle Biopsy 

A core-needle biopsy is done using local anesthesia. The doctor

inserts a hollow needle into the breast and removes a small amount

of suspicious tissue. The doctor may place a tiny marker inside the

breast. It marks the spot where the biopsy was done.

Radiologists or surgeons usually do core-needle biopsies using

special imaging equipment.

Ultrasound-guided core-needle biopsy uses ultrasound to guide the

needle to the suspicious area. Ultrasound uses sound waves to create

a picture of the inside of the breast. It is like what is used to look at

the baby when a woman is pregnant. You will lie on your back or side

for this procedure. The doctor will hold the ultrasound device against

your breast to guide the needle.

Stereotactic-guided core-needle biopsy uses x-ray equipment and a

computer to guide the needle. Usually for this kind of biopsy, you lie

on your stomach on a special table. The table will have an opening

for your breast. Your breast will be compressed like it is for a

mammogram.

Freehand core-needle biopsy does not use ultrasound or x-ray

equipment. It is used less often and only for lumps that can be felt

through the skin.

4

It is not unusual to feel anxious about having a biopsy. Ask your

doctor or nurse what to expect. It may help to talk to your family

and friends. You also might want someone to come to your

appointment with you. 
Research About Breast Biopsy

Accuracy 

Surgical biopsies and core-needle biopsies both work well for finding

breast cancer. But biopsies are not 100-percent accurate. In a few

cases, a biopsy can miss breast cancer. 

Surgical biopsies and ultrasound or stereotactic-guided core-needle

biopsies have about the same accuracy. Freehand core-needle

biopsies are less accurate. 

Out of every 100 women who have breast cancer:

n Surgical biopsies will find 98 to 99 of those breast cancers.

n Ultrasound or stereotactic-guided biopsies will find 97 to 99 of

those breast cancers.

n Freehand biopsies will find about 86 of those breast cancers.

Side effects

Bleeding, bruising, and infection can happen after a biopsy. Coreneedle biopsies have a much lower risk of these problems than

surgical biopsies.

Side effects are rare with any kind of core-needle biopsy. 

n Less than 1 out of 100 women who have a core-needle biopsy

have a problem like severe bruising, bleeding, or infection.

Side effects happen more often with surgical biopsy.

n Up to 10 out of 100 women who have surgical biopsy get severe

bruising.

n About 5 out of 100 women who have surgical biopsy get an

infection.

Some medicines, including aspirin, increase the risk of bleeding and

bruising. Your doctor will ask you about the medicines you take. You

may need to stop some medicines a few days before the biopsy.

5
Pain

Women who have a surgical biopsy sometimes need prescription

pain medicine to control pain after the procedure. Women who have

a core-needle biopsy rarely need prescription pain medicine. 

6

Biopsy Results 

Make sure to ask your doctor if you don’t understand your test

results. After going over the results with your doctor, ask for a

copy of the pathology report for your records.

After the biopsy, the pathologist who looked at the tissue will send

the pathology report to your doctor. It will tell if the suspicious area

is cancer or not. Your doctor will go over the report with you.

Waiting for these results can be difficult. It can take about a week to

get the results. 

If no cancer is found

If no cancer is found, the biopsy result is called benign (be-NINE).

Benign means it is not cancer. Some benign results need follow-up or

treatment. Talk to your doctor or nurse about what they recommend.

If cancer is found

If cancer is found, the report will tell you the kind of cancer. It will

help you and your doctor talk about the next steps. Usually, you will

be referred to a breast cancer specialist. You may need more imaging

tests or surgery. All this information will help you and your doctor

think through your treatment options. 

Take time to think. Most women with breast cancer have time to

consider their options.
Deciding on a biopsy:

What kind of biopsy are you recommending? 

Why are you recommending this kind of biopsy?

Are there any other options?

What are the possible side effects from my biopsy?

How long will it take?

Preparing for a biopsy:

How many days before my biopsy should I stop taking aspirin? Are

there other medicines to avoid?

Can I have someone in the room with me?

Do I need someone to drive me home?

Who will give me the results? 

When will I get the results? 

When my biopsy is benign:

What kind of follow-up do I need? 

When should I have my next mammogram?

When my biopsy finds cancer:

What are the next steps? 

What are my options for treatment? 

Can you tell me about support groups for breast cancer?

7

Questions for Your Doctor or Nurse
AHRQ Pub. No. 10-EHC007-A

April 2010 

Visit www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov.

Click on Guides for Patients and Consumers to print a copy of this

guide and learn about other conditions. 

For free print copies of this guide, call 800-358-9295. Ask the

Publications Clearinghouse for AHRQ Publication Number 

10-EHC007-A.

For more information about breast biopsy, visit the MedlinePlus Web

site: www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003920.htm.

For more information about breast cancer and support, visit the

MedlinePlus Web site:

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/breastcancer.html.

For More Information

Source

The information in this guide comes from a detailed review of 107 research reports. The

review is called Comparative Effectiveness of Core-Needle and Open Surgical Biopsy for the

Diagnosis of Breast Lesions (2009) and was written by ECRI Institute Evidence-based

Practice Center. 

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) created the Eisenberg Center at

Oregon Health & Science University to make research helpful for consumers. This guide

was written by Martha Schechtel, R.N., Erin Davis, B.A., Seth Meyer, M.A., and David

Hickam, M.D., of the Eisenberg Center. Women who had breast biopsies helped the

Eisenberg Center develop this guide.