Curing breast cancer sans scalpel.

A single-center prospective feasibility trial assessing accuracy of tissue sampling in detecting pathological complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant systemic therapy in women with triple-negative or Her2(+) breast cancers was reported last month in Annals of Surgery. In 40 women receiving neoadjuvant therapy and tissue sampling prior to surgery, combined fine-needle aspiration with vacuum-assisted core biopsy was able to assess pCR rates with 98% accuracy and a 5% false-negative rate. These promising results have paved the way for a Phase 2 clinical trial currently enrolling women who will forgo surgery and proceed directly with radiation in cases of CR on tissue sampling alone. We’ve sure come along way since Dr. Halsted.