MODEL RELEASED. Breast biopsy. Doctor performing a biopsy on a 35 year old woman's breast. The doctor is using a needle to take a tissue sample from a growth in the woman's breast. The position of the needle in the breast can be seen on the screen at left. The tissue will then be examined to determine whether the growth is malignant (cancerous) or not. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. When caught early enough it can be treated by surgical removal of the cancerous cells, often combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy.