Biopsy - Small Tissue

In this small part of tissue or tissue fluid is collected with help of specialised needle. This is also known as fine-needle aspiration. This generally removes only few cells from the lump or it done in case of bone-marrow biopsy where no solid lump is present.

Why biopsy is performed?

Biopsy is primarily performed to diagnose cancer. A biopsy also helps your care provider determine how aggressive your cancer is — the cancer's grade. The grade is sometimes expressed as a number on a scale of 1 to 4 and is determined by how cancer cells look under the microscope.

Low-grade (grade 1) cancers are generally the least aggressive and high-grade (grade 4) cancers are generally the most aggressive. This information may help guide treatment options.

What is biopsy?

Biopsy is procedure in which sample of your tissue taken from the body in order to examine it more closely. There are different types of biopsies. A needle biopsy removes tissue with a needle passed through your skin to the site under investigation. Other kinds of biopsies may require surgery. Biopsies can be done on all parts of the body.

Other imaging tests such as USG, MRI or CT scan can identify the abnormal area or tissue in the body. However, only biopsy can help is examine more closely and identify whether irregular mass is cancerous or non-cancerous (benign).

After the tissue is collected and preserved, it is delivered to a pathologist. A pathologist will process the tissue and examine under a microscope. By noting the tissue cells' type, shape, and internal activity, in most cases a pathologist can diagnose the problem. The time it takes to get results from a biopsy can vary.

There are many different kinds of biopsies. If the biopsy will be on the skin or other sensitive area, numbing medicine is applied first.

Here are some types of biopsies:

• Needle biopsy, CT-guided biopsy, Bone marrow biopsy, Liver biopsy, Aspiration biopsy (fine-needle aspiration) . Surgical biopsy etc.

More about Small Tissue Biopsy

Other names: Tissue biopsy

Who is advised for Biopsy?

If your doctor suspects any abnormal growth in any part of the body.Doctor may call this area lump, lesion or tumor. For example:

• Breast biopsy if lesion is found in breast
• A mole on the skin which has shown change in color or size.
• Previously present lump which has become swollen or painful

Results:It may take several days to get your results. Typical results may show:

• No cancer or abnormal cells were found.
• Abnormal, but benign. These are the cells that are abnormal but do not cause cancer.
• Cancer cells found. 

Interpretation:

Your results will include information about the cancer to help you and your health care provider develop a treatment plan that best meets your needs. Sometimes, additional testing or follow-up may be needed.