Mammograms can detect cancers that you can’t feel and that are not seen by ultrasound. Today, the Stanford Cancer Center is able to perform less-invasive, convenient outpatient core needle biopsies on lesions that are visible by mammogram, using a technique called stereotactic core needle biopsy.

Breast cancers are most often seen on mammography. At times they can only be identified by using ultrasound. And less commonly they are only detected by palpation (examination) of  the breast. However, nearly all breast cancer can be seen by mamography and ultrasound.

How Stereotactic Core Needle Biopsy Works

Stereotactic core needle biopsies are possible because of new mammogram technology that lets doctors visualize the breast in real-time while taking the biopsy in the mammogram office. 

The stereotactic mammogram set up places a woman face down on a table with holes that her breasts hang through. The breast is in a mammographic machine and tumors are visualized by the mammographer who places a needle in the tumor to obtain a small tissue sample.

Physicians at Stanford recommend that most women have a core needle biopsy because the results are valuable in defining the type of cancer a patient has, as well as assisting the surgeon in plannnig surgical options.

Stanford Expertise

The Cancer Center Breast Imaging Group is considered one of the leaders in the nation in all breast cancer imaging technologies, including stereotactic core needle biopsy.

The group regularly hosts fellows from other institutions who come to Stanford to learn how to effectively use the stereotactic mammography equipment and take stereotactic-guided core needle biopsies.

Because the accuracy of these procedures is technique dependent, the experience of the Cancer Center group can provide you with confidence in your results.