Surgeons attending the 11th annual meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons were perplexed by the reversal of the trend away from mastectomy and toward breast-conserving therapies. Advanced breast-conserving products were presented at the meeting; but with lowered revenue expectations that can ultimately be attributed to the economic woes of the past couple of years. High unemployment and the lack of health care coverage have prompted many women to delay or forego their yearly mammogram, and as a result, the numbers of biopsies, surgeries, and radiation therapy procedures have declined as well.

Advances in breast cancer screening are making earlier detection the norm, but biopsy devices are progressing as well. Emerging technologies, along with a number of new oncolytic drugs, will add add to the growing treatment armamentarium for breast cancer.

In breast cancer, the need for less invasive alternatives to surgery is gaping, particularly on the diagnostic side. Following routine screening mammography, 1.4 million women in the US each year have breast biopsies once a radiologist identifies a suspicious lesion. However, only 20% of women undergoing biopsies will be found to have cancer and not just abnormal, but benign growths. Several new companies have gone to the drawing board to remedy the shortcomings of biopsy devices.