Although many women worry that the results will show cancer, most biopsies are benign (not cancer). The purpose of this webpage is to describe the most common diagnoses found during breast biopsy.
Most women who have breast biopsies DO NOT have breast cancer. In fact, about 4 out of 5 breast biopsies are benign (not cancer).
What percentage of breast biopsies are cancer? Over one million people have breast biopsies each year in the United States. Approximately 20% of the biopsies reveal a breast cancer diagnosis.
Although biopsies are often ordered when there is suspicion of cancer, results often come back negative (you don't have cancer). Your healthcare provider may have ordered a biopsy because of health concern that's entirely unrelated to cancer. A biopsy is much like any other test.
Sometimes, a biopsy reveals that the suspicious area contains only benign, or non-cancerous, cells. This might mean you do not need treatment, such as surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy. Other times, a biopsy can tell the doctor how aggressive a cancer appears to be and what the extent of the disease may be.
Can you diagnose without a biopsy? The short answer is no. While imaging and blood draws can show suspicious areas or levels, removing tissue and studying it is the only way to diagnose cancer 100%. Home tests to detect things like colon cancer only look for blood or DNA markers in your stool.
During a biopsy, the doctor will take a small tissue sample from the tumor, then send the sample to a laboratory so it can be tested for cancer or other signs of disease. A pathologist will analyze the sample under a microscope and determine whether cancer has been detected and whether it's spread in the body.
Your GP, hospital consultant or practice nurse will give you your results and explain what they mean. A biopsy is sometimes inconclusive, which means it hasn't produced a definitive result. In this case, the biopsy may need to be repeated, or other tests may be required to confirm your diagnosis.
The most common types include: (1) incisional biopsy, in which only a sample of tissue is removed; (2) excisional biopsy, in which an entire lump or suspicious area is removed; and (3) needle biopsy, in which a sample of tissue or fluid is removed with a needle.
A biopsy is the removal of tissues for examination by a pathologist. There are many types of biopsies but choosing the most appropriate type of biopsy to perform on a patient depends on the suspected disease and care goals for that disease. None of them is inherently better or worse than the other.
Breast abnormalities can also be found through self-examination or when symptoms arise. Suspicious mammographic findings may require a biopsy for diagnosis. More than 1 million women have breast biopsies each year in the United States. About 20 percent of these biopsies yield a diagnosis of breast cancer.
Breast biopsies are usually recommended after an abnormal exam or imaging test when more information is needed for a diagnosis. Fine-needle, core-needle, and surgical biopsies are the three types of biopsies. Thankfully, when looking into what percentage of breast biopsies are cancer? The answer is low—only 20%.
The results, called a pathology report, may be ready as soon as 2 or it may take as long as 10 days. How long it takes to get your biopsy results depends on how many tests are needed on the sample.
Biopsy specimens are examined by pathologists, who look at the tissue sample under a microscope in order to determine if it is cancerous. It has been estimated that 1 in every 71 biopsies is misdiagnosed as cancerous when it was not, and 1 out of every 5 cancer cases was misclassified.
Your physician and a Radiology & Imaging radiologist recommend a biopsy when a finding has an appearance that could possibly be cancerous. As medical procedures go, a biopsy or aspiration is minor. You will have little or no scarring.
A punch biopsy is the main biopsy method. It uses a circular blade to get a cylindrical sample of skin tissue.
Another important factor is whether there are cancer cells at the margins, or edges, of the biopsy sample. A “positive” or “involved” margin means there are cancer cells in the margin. This means that it is likely that cancerous cells are still in the body.
A biopsy is only recommended if there's a suspicious finding on a mammogram, ultrasound or MRI, or a concerning clinical finding. If a scan is normal and there are no worrisome symptoms, there's no need for a biopsy. If you do need a biopsy, your doctor should discuss which type of biopsy is needed and why.
Results of biopsies and scans take a bit of time. They need to be looked at by a specialist so that your medical team are clear on the diagnosis and can plan the best treatment for you. Don't be alarmed if it takes longer than expected to get the results back; there are many possible reasons for a delay.
Processing time
Often, there are technical reasons for delays in reporting results. For instance, certain types of body tissues take longer to process than others. Bone and other hard tissues that contain a lot of calcium need special handling.
While even the most advanced imaging technology doesn't allow radiologists to identify cancer with certainty, it does give them some strong clues about what deserves a closer look.
Benign tumors are those that stay in their primary location without invading other sites of the body. They do not spread to local structures or to distant parts of the body. Benign tumors tend to grow slowly and have distinct borders. Benign tumors are not usually problematic.
While many benign tumors do not need treatment, some do, especially if they are causing symptoms. Usually if a benign tumor requires treatment, we remove it surgically. Whenever possible, we use minimally invasive techniques, which require small incisions and have minimal recovery time.