Archived Case 35

Ultrasound shows a solid mass with small cystic component at the site of palpable abnormality. Because this mass is solid and palpable, it is considered suspicious and a core biopsy should be perfformed.

Ultrasound-guided core biopsy was performed, yielding fibroadenoma.

A six-month follow-up for all benign biopsies is recommended because of the small, but real possibility of sampling error when performing core needle biopsies. A malignancy missed at core sampling should be detected at the 6-month follow-up exam. The follow-up exam should be whichever modality on which the lesion was best visualized (ultrasound in this case).