You’ve heard the term usually used in connection with the diagnosis of cancer. But how much do you really know about what a biopsy is?
To start with: once cancer is suspected the physician will suggest that a biopsy be carried out to determine if a cancer in a particular organ is present. It’s a procedure wherein a piece of soft tissue or fluid or bone is taken from the relevant part of the body of a patient and given to the laboratory/pathologist for analysis of a particular type of cancer.
Samples taken for biopsies can also be used to check for viruses or other diseases but detecting for cancer is the most common reason they are done. However, having a biopsy doesn’t necessarily mean that cancer is present it is only required to determine if a malignancy is present.
Biopsies may be done through the skin or within the body. Small or large samples of tissue are taken from the tumor and sometimes the entire tumor is removed with an incision in the skin.
An endoscopy also forms part of a biopsy where a thin tube with light is inserted into, say the mouth to inspect the general area and remove a tissue sample.
Laparoscopies and thoracoscopy are carried out on the abdomen and chest respectively. Local anesthesia will be given if the tumor is under the skin but to reach more difficult areas may require an operation with general anesthesia.
The pathologist will look for abnormal cells and the analysis will reveal if the tumor is malignant or benign. If the biopsy reveals the growth as malignant then oncologists will help stage the cancer so as to start the treatment.
Is the procedure painful and do you have to prepare for it in any way? If the biopsy requires that a tissue sample be obtained from a lung lining or the GI tract then fasting may be recommended so that nausea and vomiting are not induced.
The physician will recommend the taking or stopping of some medication just before the biopsy is scheduled so please do discuss your medical history with the doctor.
The patient is likely to feel some pain for a couple of days as, after all, the procedures are invasive, and that is why an anesthetic is given. There may be a little bit of bleeding but this too will stop after a while. Infection after a biopsy is rare as are reactions to the anesthetic.
However, do inform your physician if you have persistent bleeding or pain and a high fever after a biopsy.
Are biopsies necessary? Most often the answer is yes, because sometimes the physician may find it difficult to establish if a tumor is benign or not without this procedure. They also help when an organ, such as the liver or kidney, is diseased and more information is needed to establish the kind of treatment to be given to the patient.
Research is ongoing to improve biopsy procedures, such as better imaging techniques and sampling processes, and also to reduce the invasiveness and increase the accuracy of the testing.
You must understand that a biopsy is a comparatively safe and straightforward procedure. So if your doctor considers it necessary for you to undergo one then don’t hesitate to have it. It will help to determine the existence, or not, of cancer and stage the disease at the same time. It will help save your life.
