Trucut needle biopsy in breast lumps.

THE clinical differentiation between benign and malignant breast lumps is fraught with danger. A small proportion of cases present with classical findings but in the majority it is essential to have a histological or cytological diagnosis before surgery is undertaken. Trucut needle biopsy (TCN) of solid tumours is now established as a useful means of obtaining representative biopsy material and has been used widely in liver and kidney disease. However, its usefulness in the diagnosis of solid breast lumps remains controversial. To evaluate the technique we carried out 250 consecutive TCN biopsies and the results of the series are presented.