Nation IN BRIEF : MASSACHUSETTS : New Cancer Biopsy Eliminates Surgery

Extracting breast cells with a needle to examine them for cancer is a safe and highly accurate alternative to surgical biopsy, Canadian radiologists said. A study of the technique, ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration, was 98% accurate in diagnosing malignancies, the researchers said. “Fine needle aspiration biopsy, when added to clinical mammographic and sonographic assessment, can lead to earlier diagnosis. . . ,” researcher Paula Gordon of the University of British Columbia said in a statement. The findings are to be presented in Boston at the American College of Radiology’s National Conference on Breast Cancer.