When a doctor finds a suspicious lump in the breast, the first step is often a biopsy to see if it is cancerous. Sometimes, these initial tests show a lesion that looks mostly harmless but has a small chance of containing hidden cancer. This is known as a malignant upgrade.
Researchers looked at data from 844 of these specific lesions. They found that about 11.23% of the cases showed a malignant upgrade when a vacuum-assisted biopsy (VAB) was used. This procedure uses a vacuum to help remove a larger piece of tissue for testing. While the results are promising, the evidence is currently considered to be of low certainty because the data came from a limited number of studies.
This finding does not mean the procedure is always better than other methods. Instead, it suggests that VAB can be a helpful tool in a team-based approach. Doctors can use it to get a clearer picture of a lesion before deciding on the next steps for a patient.
