Patients with isolated axillary lymphadenopathy are often referred to rapid-access breast clinics for diagnostic evaluation. In the absence of a discernable breast primary, tissue diagnosis has conventionally been pursued using open biopsy. We aimed to assess the value of freehand needle core biopsy (FNCB) as an alternative to this. A prospective audit was conducted over 6 years from 2002 to 2008. Twenty-eight procedures were performed, all carried out under local anaesthesia in the outpatient setting. The majority of cases (10) revealed metastatic breast cancer. Other diagnoses included metastatic ovarian cancer (2), metastatic melanoma (3), lymphoma (4), silicone granuloma (1) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (1). Seven patients had inconclusive histology necessitating further open biopsy. This revealed primary lymphoma in 6 cases and benign histology in one. FNCB thus avoided the need for diagnostic excision biopsy in 75% (21/28) patients. However, it was found to be less useful in diagnosing de-novo lymphoma.