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Surgical oncology

Why biopsying metastatic breast cancer should be routine

Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology volume 7, pages 72–74 (2010)Cite this article

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Currently, acquisition of tissue from presumed metastatic deposits in breast cancer is not routine. Instead therapeutic decisions in this setting are based on the features of the tumor at initial diagnosis. As biopsies are diagnostic and changes can occur between the primary and the secondary tumors, the routine biopsy of suspected metastatic deposits needs to be considered. Such biopsies will also be key to translational research, which will underpin future therapeutic advances.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, W12 0NN, London, UK

    Anand Sharma, Tim Crook & Carlo Palmieri

  2. Surgery and Molecular Oncology, Ninewells Hospital, University of Dundee, DD1 9SY, Dundee, UK

    Alastair Thompson

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  1. Anand Sharma
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  2. Tim Crook
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  3. Alastair Thompson
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  4. Carlo Palmieri
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Correspondence to Carlo Palmieri.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Sharma, A., Crook, T., Thompson, A. et al. Why biopsying metastatic breast cancer should be routine. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 7, 72–74 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2009.222

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