Breast biopsy is usually performed by
surgeons or radiologists. Both surgeons and radiologists have medical doctorates (MD) or
doctor of osteopathy (DO) degrees and advanced training in their areas of expertise.
Radiologists should be certified by the American Board of Radiology, and surgeons should
be certified by the American Board of Surgery. Breast surgeons are often members of the
American Society of Breast Surgeons. Radiologists may be members of the Society of Breast
Imaging.
Radiologist
Radiologists who specialize in breast
imaging interpret mammograms, and often interpret the results of other breast imaging
tests such as ultrasound. Some radiologists also perform
biopsies on patients. These "interventional" radiologists often perform fine needle aspiration (FNA), core needle, or vacuum-assisted breast biopsy in outpatient settings.
For surgical biopsy, a radiologist will
often assist in the procedure by first placing a needle into the breast using wire
localization (also called needle localization) and then transferring the patient to the
operating room where a surgeon will perform the open surgical breast biopsy.
Surgeon
Open surgical biopsy (both excisional
and incisional) are usually performed by surgeons rather than radiologists. Surgical
biopsies may be performed by either general surgeons or breast surgeons. Surgeons may also
perform fine needle aspiration (FNA), core needle biopsy, and other methods of biopsy such
as large core biopsy (ABBI) or vacuum-assisted biopsy.
Pathologist
Once the radiologist or surgeon has
removed the breast tissue samples during biopsy, the samples will be taken to the
pathology laboratory for diagnosis. A pathologist is a physician who analyzes cells and
tissues under a microscope to determine whether they are malignant (cancerous),
pre-cancerous, benign (non-cancerous). In addition to diagnosing cancer, the pathologist
will analyze specific characteristics of the cancer and eventually help assign a stage and grade to the
breast cancer. These factors will help determine the patient’s treatment and
prognosis (expected outcome). Click here for more
information on the breast pathology report.
Updated: September 18, 2007
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