Preoperative needle biopsy improves the quality of surgery in women with breast cancer

Our study demonstrates that obtaining a pre-operative diagnosis of cancer significantly improves surgical outcomes with respect to margin control and the total number of operations required to treat a patient with breast cancer. This translates into improved quality of care for the patient and a reduction in health care costs associated with secondary procedures. As much as it is possible, attempts should be made to perform a needle biopsy to confirm the presence of breast cancer prior to the patient going to the operating room. Further study is required to better understand barriers to the use of pre-operative needle biopsies, and efforts made to expand its use in the diagnosis breast cancer.

Bibliographic Reference:

James TA et al.: "Preoperative needle biopsy improves the quality of breast cancer surgery", J Am Coll Surg. 2012 Oct;215(4):562-8

Ted A. James

Department of Surgery, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, USA