{"entity":{"id":"core-needle-biopsy","kind":"term","name":"Core needle biopsy and fine-needle aspiration (FNA)","aka":["core biopsy","core needle biopsy","fine-needle aspiration","fine needle aspiration","FNA","image-guided biopsy","CT-guided biopsy","re-biopsy","bone marrow biopsy","bone marrow aspirate","targeted biopsy"],"tldr":"Taking a sliver of tissue (core) or a few cells (fine-needle aspiration) through a needle guided by ultrasound, CT or MRI, to diagnose the cancer and test its markers without surgery.","summary":"Core biopsy preserves tissue architecture and gives enough material for immunohistochemistry (ER, PR, HER2, PD-L1) and genomic panels, so it is the standard for breast, prostate (MRI-targeted), lung and liver lesions. FNA gives cytology only and suits thyroid nodules (Bethesda system) and lymph nodes. Bone marrow aspirate and trephine biopsy diagnose and monitor leukaemias and myeloma. Re-biopsy at progression identifies resistance mechanisms (T790M, small-cell transformation) when liquid biopsy is uninformative.","asOf":"2026-09-09","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needle_aspiration_biopsy","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needle_aspiration_biopsy"}],"tags":[],"related":["histology","flow-cytometry","cfdna"],"cancers":[],"sections":["diagnostics"],"technologies":["histopathology-ihc","liquid-biopsy"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"category":"Procedures"},"route":"/terms/core-needle-biopsy/","neighbours":{"term":[{"id":"bronchoscopy","kind":"term","name":"Bronchoscopy (EBUS, robotic navigation)","route":"/terms/bronchoscopy/"},{"id":"cfdna","kind":"term","name":"Cell-free DNA (cfDNA)","route":"/terms/cfdna/"},{"id":"flow-cytometry","kind":"term","name":"Flow cytometry (immunophenotyping)","route":"/terms/flow-cytometry/"},{"id":"histology","kind":"term","name":"Histology","route":"/terms/histology/"},{"id":"receptor-conversion-breast","kind":"term","name":"Receptor conversion: when the receptors change between the primary and a recurrence","route":"/terms/receptor-conversion-breast/"},{"id":"window-of-opportunity-trial","kind":"term","name":"Window-of-opportunity trial","route":"/terms/window-of-opportunity-trial/"}],"section":[{"id":"diagnostics","kind":"section","name":"Diagnostics & Biomarkers","route":"/fronts/diagnostics/"}],"technology":[{"id":"histopathology-ihc","kind":"technology","name":"Histopathology & immunohistochemistry","route":"/technologies/histopathology-ihc/"},{"id":"liquid-biopsy","kind":"technology","name":"Liquid biopsy (ctDNA)","route":"/technologies/liquid-biopsy/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"diagnostics-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Diagnostics roadmap: stains → gene panels → blood tests that decide treatment","route":"/roadmaps/diagnostics-roadmap/"}],"cancer":[{"id":"breast-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Breast cancer (all types)","route":"/cancers/breast-cancer/"},{"id":"inflammatory-breast-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Inflammatory breast cancer","route":"/cancers/inflammatory-breast-cancer/"},{"id":"paget-disease-of-the-nipple","kind":"cancer","name":"Paget disease of the nipple","route":"/cancers/paget-disease-of-the-nipple/"},{"id":"phyllodes-tumour","kind":"cancer","name":"Phyllodes tumour of the breast","route":"/cancers/phyllodes-tumour/"}]}}