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Lung Biopsy For Lung Cancer
A lung biopsy may be used to diagnose lung cancer. During the procedure, a doctor will remove a small tissue sample from your lungs and send it to a laboratory for testing.
Scans like a CT scan, MRI scan, or chest X-ray scan may show signs of cancer. If your doctor suspects cancer, a lung biopsy is often used to confirm the diagnosis.
A biopsy is a relatively quick procedure that can cause mild discomfort. There are a few different types, but a needle biopsy is one of the most common.
Read on to learn more about lung biopsies, how long they take, and what happens when the test is over.
Needle lung biopsy
A needle biopsy, also called a percutaneous biopsy, means that a doctor will place a needle through the skin and into the lung. Then, they'll draw out a small tissue sample.
This procedure takes place under local anesthesia and uses either an ultrasound or CT scanner as a guide. Cancer Research UK reports that a needle lung biopsy usually takes 30 to 45 minutes.
Transbronchial biopsy
A transbronchial biopsy uses a flexible tube called a bronchoscope to take a sample of tissue from the lungs. The tube is inserted through the nose or mouth and down into the lungs.
This procedure involves sedation and usually takes about an hour.
Open lung biopsy
An open lung biopsy involves making an incision in the side of the body toward the back of the lung. A sample of tissue from the lungs is taken, and the incision is closed with stitches.
During this procedure, a chest drain is also inserted to help in the expansion of the lungs during the procedure to allow fluid to drain out. You'll be under anesthesia, and you may need to wait a bit before you can go home.
Once a sample is taken from a lung biopsy, it's sent to a laboratory for testing.
At the laboratory, a doctor called a pathologist will conduct tests on the sample to determine whether cancer cells are present. During this process, the pathologist may also conduct tests to help classify the type of cancer.
Results will then be detailed in a pathology report and sent to your doctor. This report is usually available within a week of the lung biopsy, and your doctor will call you with the results.
A lung biopsy doesn't technically "show" anything. However, the tissue sample is tested to determine which type of cells are in your lungs.
If cancerous cells are present, the results can confirm a cancer diagnosis.
Typically, a lung biopsy causes minor discomfort or no discomfort at all.
Sometimes, general anesthetic is used which means you'll be asleep and won't be aware of or feel anything that is happening. If you're not under a general anesthetic, a mild sedative may be administered to help you relax during the procedure.
A local anesthetic will be used to numb the area where the needle will be inserted. When this happens, you may feel a slight prick and pressure, but it shouldn't be painful.
Some biopsies, like an open biopsy, may require a few days' stay in the hospital. For other procedures with only a light sedative, you may be able to go home once the sedative wears off.
You might experience some slight pain at the site of the biopsy once local anesthesia begins to wear off. This will decrease with time, and you'll be given pain relief medication if needed.
Sharp pain or pain in the shoulders with breathing can be a sign of a collapsed lung. While uncommon, this can sometimes occur with a needle biopsy. Other symptoms of a collapsed lung may include:
If you have any of these symptoms, you should seek immediate medical attention.
Tumor seeding, also called needle seeding, is when a biopsy needle inserted into the body to sample a tumor dislodges cancer cells and allows them to spread along the track of the needle.
Studies on this have produced mixed results. While some instances of tumor seeding have been reported, including in lung cancer cases, it is very uncommon.
According to the National Cancer Institute, the chance of cancer spreading through a biopsy or surgical procedure is extremely low.
Physicians take steps to prevent the spread of cancer cells during biopsies and when removing tumors. For example, if taking tissue from more than one part of the body, different tools are used for each area.
Once your biopsy results arrive, your doctor will have a discussion with you about the next steps.
If cancer is found, more tests may be needed to determine the stage of cancer. Staging refers to the size of a tumor and the extent to which it has spread. Knowing the staging will help determine what treatment options may be best for you.
Your doctor will discuss the possible treatment options available to you as well as the pros and cons of each. They'll also discuss the goals of treatment. For instance, sometimes curing lung cancer completely isn't always a realistic goal, so treatment may be focused on controlling cancer and reducing symptoms.
It's important to ask questions during this period. It's also a good idea to get a second opinion if you'd like one.
There are many kinds of lung biopsies, but common ones include needle, transbronchial, and open.
A doctor may recommend a lung biopsy to check for cancer. In some cases, prior tests like chest X-rays or CT scans initially indicate lung cancer may be present, and a lung biopsy can be used to confirm a diagnosis.
New Blood Test Aims To Gauge Odds Of Lung Issues Like COPD
An experimental blood test could one day help identify people most likely to develop severe lung problems like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Photo by Adobe Stock/HealthDay News
An experimental blood test could one day help identify people most likely to develop severe lung problems like COPD.
The test reviews a panel of 32 proteins in blood that best predict people most likely to suffer a rapid decline in lung function, according to a study published recently in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Adults with higher test scores have:
An 84% increased risk of COPD
An 81% increased chance of dying from a respiratory disease like COPD or pneumonia
A 17% increased risk of requiring hospital care for respiratory problems
A 10% increased risk of respiratory symptoms that need treatment, like a cough, mucus or shortness of breath
"Loss of lung function on a year-over-year basis is associated with poor respiratory health outcomes, but we do not have a good way to easily figure out if a patient is on a steep trajectory of lung function decline," said researcher Dr. Ravi Kalhan, a professor of pulmonary medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
"If we had an easy-to-implement clinical tool, like a blood test, that captured someone's lung function trajectory at a single time point, it would enable earlier interventions which might, in the long run, improve lung health," Kalhan added.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of lung diseases that include emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
COPD prevents airflow to the lungs, causing sufferers to struggle to breathe. There is no cure, and COPD gets worse over time. However, there are ways to manage and treat the lung illness
Researchers created the test using data collected from nearly 2,500 U.S. Adults during a 30-year study on heart and lung health.
Participants in the study took breathing tests to measure their lung function as many as six times over the three decades. During the study, 138 experienced a sharp decline in their lung function.
The research team screened thousands of proteins from blood samples provided by the participants at the 25-year mark. They found 32 proteins linked to lung function, and compiled them into a score that would predict a person's future likelihood of severe lung ailments.
Researchers then tested that score on data from more than 40,000 adults from two earlier studies, and found that the test did indeed successfully identify people with the greatest risk of lung problems.
"Similar to using cholesterol levels to gauge a patient's risk for having a heart attack, we're looking at biological pathways to predict a person's risk for having COPD or severe complications from COPD," explained lead researcher Dr. Gabrielle Liu, a pulmonologist and assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, Davis Medical Center.
The blood test still needs to be verified in clinical trials before it can receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, researchers noted.
"We are still not ready for this test to be used in practice, but it's a promising advance," said James Kiley, director of lung diseases at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, which funded the study.
"It consolidates insights from decades of breathing tests and medical evaluations into a single tool that has the potential to identify patients at risk for severe disease and complications," he said in a National Institutes of Health news release.
More information
The American Lung Association has more about COPD.
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