Expert: Claes-Gustaf Nordquist, M.D. - 9/23/2006

Question
I was told yesterday that my breast showed an oval mass on the left breast and I was being scheduled for a MRI Breast Biopsy. What does this entail, also how painful and how long is the precedure?

Answer
I'm not sure exactly what you mean. A biopsy is a procedure by which you take out a specimen from the tissues you want to study - either in the form of tissue or cell samples - for microscopic studies in order to get a diagnosis. This can be done in many different ways, some hardly painful at all (like the thin needle aspiration biopsy)requiring no anesthesia, other (like a full surgical biopsy) definitely requiring anesthesia. MRI is a non invasive radiologic diagnostic tool - but not using x-rays or radioactivity - using strong magnetic fields and microwaves in order to produce pictures of the structures you want to study - including breasts - this also for diagnosis. However a spectroscopic MRI can study the tissues of interest also from a biochemical point of view and could therefore perhaps be regarded as a kind of "non invasive biopsy", but it is NOT a biopsy in the true sense of the word. MRI studies do not produce any pain at all! In theory we can also consider a biopsy - a needle biopsy, see above - that is guided by MRI to the lesion of interest. Such methods are routinely done with the help of X-rays and ultrasound. However if metal needles are used they would disturb the MRI equipment due to their electromagnetic properties, so I can at present not see this as a useful method. The time required depends on what method is used. Please try to get this matter clarified by the department that is supposed to do it! And please do keep me posted!