False negatives in biopsy results: How to get it right?

This is an automatically translated article.


Biopsy is a very commonly used word, almost associated with diseases related to cancer. If the result returned is negative, it is considered a benign tumor and vice versa, positive is a malignant tumor. However, it does happen that the result is a false negative.

1. Understanding Biopsy


Types of imaging tests such as CT scans and X-rays can only help identify areas to be examined, but cannot distinguish between normal cells and cancer cells. A biopsy is a medical procedure whose purpose is to take a tissue sample. To be able to distinguish between normal cells and cancer cells, the patient will now perform a biopsy from an organ with suspected pathology or from a tumor suspected of being benign or malignant. And biopsies will perform the test with great accuracy for diagnosing most cancers.
A biopsy is done by taking a sample of tissue from anywhere on the body, such as the skin, internal organs, or other structures. The sample is then examined under a microscope for a more accurate diagnosis. The purpose of this test is usually directed to check for abnormal function of an organ or abnormal cell structure changes such as tumor, swelling, tumor...
Biopsy is often associated with cancer cancer, but when your doctor orders a test, it doesn't mean you have cancer. Doctors use this test to check if abnormalities in the body are caused by cancer or other problems.

2. Effect of biopsy test


Sinh thiết giúp chẩn đoán tính chất tế bào của bộ phận cơ thể
Sinh thiết giúp chẩn đoán tính chất tế bào của bộ phận cơ thể

Biopsy helps to diagnose the cellular nature of the biopsied human body part by providing a piece of tissue for examination when inaccessible from the outside. Some of the effects of a biopsy test include:
Biopsy of cancer: If a patient has a lump or swelling somewhere in the body without an obvious cause, the only way to determine whether it is Whether it's cancerous or not is through a stomach biopsy: This test can help your doctor determine if stomach conditions like stomach ulcers are caused by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Small bowel biopsy may be used to evaluate patients with malabsorption, anemia, or celiac disease. Liver biopsy: This can help your doctor diagnose a tumor, or cancer, in your liver, diagnose cirrhosis, or hepatitis. Biopsy may also be used to assess how a patient is responding to treatment. Testing for infection: A needle biopsy can help determine if an infection is present and why. Inflammation test: By examining the cells, for example with a needle biopsy, your doctor can determine the cause of the inflammation.

3. Why can biopsy results be false negative?


Có những trường hợp sinh thiết khối bướu, kết quả sinh thiết trả về khối bướu là mô viêm
Có những trường hợp sinh thiết khối bướu, kết quả sinh thiết trả về khối bướu là mô viêm

There are cases of tumor biopsies, the biopsy results return the tumor as inflammatory tissue.
The first case, although it is a malignant tumor, but around the tumor there are necrotic lesions (dead cells or inflammatory cells), when performing a biopsy, press that position. The result returned is chronic inflammatory tissue damage, necrotic tissue (but in fact the tumor is malignant tumor). It is a false-negative situation, ie the tumor is cancerous, but because the biopsy does not hit the malignant cell site, it hits the benign lesion.
In the second case, after a biopsy of the patient's tumor, half of the tumor was sent to the laboratory of this hospital, the other half was sent to another hospital. The problem is that half of the tumor shows only inflammatory cells without malignant cells, while the other half shows cancer cells. The results of the first half of the tumor with inflammatory cells were negative, and the second half of the tumor with malignant cells was positive.
Because of this, when performing a biopsy, you should choose a small tumor or a lymph node and send the whole thing to only 1 laboratory so that the pathologist can fully cut the whole mass of that lesion and will have a question. more precise answer.
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