Main controversies in breast cancer

Table 1 Comparison between fine needle aspiration and core biopsy

	FNA	CNB
Ability to distinguish invasive from in situ lesions	No	Yes
Accurate for palpable lesions	Yes	Yes
Accurate for non palpable lesions	No	Yes
Useful for hypocellular and sclerotic lesions	No	Yes
Diagnosis of papillary lesions	Low	Moderate
Distinction of low grade lesions	Very difficult	Difficult
Suitable for difficult or superficial sites	Yes	No
Appropriate for patients with coagulation abnormalities	Yes	No
Complication rate	Very low	Low
Minimal invasiveness	Yes	No
Special experience required	Yes	No
Rapid (initial) diagnosis	Yes	No
Patient discomfort	No	Yes
Long tissue processing time	No	Yes
Cost	Inexpensive	More expensive than FNA
Requirement of anesthesia	No	Yes

FNA: Fine needle aspiration; CNB: Core biopsy.