Biopsies may not be as conclusive as previously thought

A new study suggests that breast biopsies may not be as definitive as you think.

The research, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that while biopsies can differentiate cancer from healthy tissue, they may not be as effective at analyzing results that "fall into the gray zone between normal and malignant," The New York Times reports.

When patients receive biopsy results that include diagnoses such as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or the non-cancerous atypia, they should get a second opinion on the biopsy, the study researchers suggest. That way, they won't undergo unnecessary surgery — or forgo treatments they should be having.

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The seven-year study involved sending biopsy slides from 240 women to 115 pathologists in eight states, after the slides were reviewed by three expert pathologists. The doctors correctly identified the majority of slides showing invasive cancers, but they misdiagnosed 13 percent of healthy results as being abnormal. And for DCIS, the pathologists missed 13 percent of cases identified by the experts. They also missed 35 percent of the atypia diagnoses the experts had identified.

The Times concludes that the study's findings "challenge the common belief that a biopsy is the gold standard and will resolve any questions that might arise from an unclear mammogram or ultrasound," so patients with ambiguous biopsy results should always be sure to get a second opinion.