What is the purpose of a stereotactic core needle biopsy?

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Stereotactic core needle biopsy is a percutaneous, image-guided procedure used to obtain tissue samples for diagnosis from a suspicious lesion or calcifications seen on mammography. Using two mammographic views, the stereotactic system triangulates the exact location, guiding a hollow needle into the abnormal area to take several core samples. The goal is to get tissue for pathology to determine whether the lesion is malignant, precancerous, or benign, without removing the entire lesion. This differs from surgical excision, which aims to remove the whole lesion, and from procedures that guide contrast or assess density, which do not involve obtaining tissue samples.