Stereotactic Breast Biopsy: The Nurse's Role

Over the past 3 decades many efforts have been made to educate women about the importance of early detection in the fight against breast cancer. Increased participation in mammography screening, along with improved systemic therapy, is said to be responsible not only for the most recent increase in breast cancer survival but for the increased detection of abnormal mammogram lesions and the estimated 1.4 million biopsies done each year. In the past, all these biopsies were performed in the operating room as an open, wire localization, surgical biopsy. Because only 20% of these biopsies result in a cancer diagnosis, there has been an increase in image-guided breast biopsies, of which a large proportion is with stereotactic imaging. These breast biopsies are performed to diagnose and, or remove these breast lesions which has kept many women out of the operating room. The women with benign diagnosis are followed appropriately and those with a cancer diagnosis proceed to the operating room for definitive surgery. The biopsy tools have progressed from fine-needle aspiration through vacuum-assisted devices, some designed to give a diagnosis and others designed to remove a benign lesion. With the arrival of newer biopsy tools that allow for large and complete samples, we may soon see patients with small cancers being diagnosed and treated in one setting with an image-guided breast biopsy. Despite their minimally invasive nature, these newer diagnostic techniques are still biopsies with the anxiety associated with a potential diagnosis of breast cancer. The nurse's role in pre- and postprocedural education is crucial to the success of any stereotactic breast biopsy program. As the potential for these devices moves toward therapy the nurse's role will expand.