Ultrasound-guided Mammotome biopsy is an accurate and useful diagnostic method that enables sufficient amounts of tissue to be obtained with minimal invasion and few complications. The Mammotome is the first choice for obtaining a definitive pathological diagnosis in breast lesions.

Needle biopsy has replaced excisional biopsy as a definitive diagnostic technique for breast tumours, although excisional biopsy is still used for complete tumour removal for therapeutic and/or diagnostic purposes. Many vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (VAB) systems have been made available by several manufacturers since the release of the Mammotome (MMT) by Johnson & Johnson in 1995. Several recent discussions have been conducted to identify whether core needle biopsy (CNB) or VAB, is more appropriate. However, currently available VAB systems differ from the conventional system (i.e. articulate arm type 11-gauge(G) MMT), and the characteristics of both CNB and VAB have been improved. In CNB, a 14-G needle is frequently used to obtain a larger sample. By contrast, VAB is considered easier to perform because it uses a thinner needle and a lighter, non-tethered system. When differentiating CNB from VAB, the type of VAB should also be defined. In this review, we discuss the characteristics of ultrasonography-guided VAB and CNB with a focus on practical issues such as the number of samples and volume of tissue obtained during ultrasonography-guided needle biopsy.

Cytology findings for small breast lesions should be considered only when imaging and cytology indicate benign lesions. Therefore, pathological examination without cytological examination should be the initial approach.

HighlightsSpontaneous cancer remission without treatment is a known phenomenon with various types of cancer.Although spontaneous breast cancer remission has been thought to be a rare, this may occurs at a certain rate(not rare phenomenon).When cancer was not detected in the pathological specimen and there were no known biological markers to provide information for the decision regarding adjuvant therapy, observation without further treatment can be option.

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