It is a pleasure for me to be back with a topic that I hope will be interesting for all of you. A few days ago I talked about a close relative who had presented a prostate problem, and who had improved with a treatment he is receiving, however, we were awaiting the results of the Biopsy.
If you missed this post, here is the link: Prostate: an organ to take care of
This exam is definitive when it comes to cancer diagnoses, there is no other that is more specific than that and that can define the disease as such. I would like to share with each of you what this exam is, what its importance is, among other interesting things that I know might interest you. Let's start then with the development of this topic to learn more about it.
Our body is completely made up of cells, there are more than 200 types of cells, each one very well studied and characterized, which is really something very interesting. Those of us who have had the possibility of seeing the different cell types under the microscope, at the moment we do so, there is literally a radical change in the conception of what tissues, cells, etc. are.
Within medicine there are different specialties and at the same time sub-specialties, which has also allowed us to go deeper and deeper into each particular area, expanding specific knowledge.
The specialty that is in charge of the study of tissues to determine the different cell types that compose them, in addition to knowing whether or not there are alterations in these is the Pathologist Physician.
This is a specialist in recognizing each cell, his work is very interesting and necessary, he works alone in the laboratories, looking under the microscope, adding different chemicals to the tissues to color them and highlight structures that allow him to recognize the different cell types, and thus know if they are normal or not. Among many other things he does, of course.
One of the tests he performs is precisely the central theme of this post, the study of tissues obtained through the biopsy. The biopsy itself is the process of extracting cells or tissues from specific places in our body, and these are then sent to laboratories to be reviewed by a medical pathologist.
As I said before, this doctor is able to recognize each type of cell, so the tissue samples that are sent to him will be put under a microscope to be studied and to be able to determine their condition.
That is why the biopsy is the definitive study for a diagnosis of cancer or not, since this disease, depending on the organ or tissue that is affected will change from its usual form to the one that characterizes a certain type of cancer, and it is the job of the pathologist to identify it. I must say that it is not an easy job, and the fact of being in a laboratory with almost no contact with patients does not make it easy, much less detract from its importance.
Recently I received some unpleasant news from a relative. Because of the results I had previously seen of the elevated prostate antigen, I assumed that this could be the diagnosis, because the statistics say that when the value is greater than 50ng/ml the chances of the presence of cancer are more than 90%, and my relative had at that time 80 ng/ml.
It is NOT about being fatalistic or anything like that, it is simple, they are statistics and you may be lucky enough to be in the small percentage that will not have that diagnosis, but in this case it was not the reality.
As you can read in the following image the diagnosis is Acinar cell adenocarcinoma. It is the most common type of prostate cancer. Adeno " means "gland ", "carcinoma " means cancer, acinar cells are specific types of cells found in the glands.
You can imagine that to define this type of diagnosis the responsibility is very great, an error in a diagnosis by a poorly performed biopsy can cause that the person who receives this false positive, that all his family enters in a real chaos, as well as the treating physician could indicate a treatment that is not necessary for the patient, for such reason is that I say that the work of the pathologist is indispensable.
I recently received some unpleasant news from a family member. Because of the results I had previously seen of the elevated prostate antigen, I assumed that this could be the diagnosis, because statistics say that when the value is greater than 50, the chances of the presence of cancer are more than 90%, and my relative had 80 at that time.
It is NOT about being fatalistic or anything like that, it is simple, they are statistics and you may be lucky enough to be in the small percentage that will not have that diagnosis, but in this case it was not the reality.
As you can read in the following image the diagnosis is Acinar cell adenocarcinoma. It is the most common type of prostate cancer. Adeno " means "gland ", "carcinoma " means cancer, acinar cells are specific types of cells found in the glands.
You can imagine that to define this type of diagnosis the responsibility is very great, an error in a diagnosis by a poorly performed biopsy can cause that the person who receives this false positive, that all his family enters in a real chaos, as well as the treating physician could indicate a treatment that is not necessary for the patient, for such reason is that I say that the work of the pathologist is indispensable.
There are organs that are not feasible to biopsy, that is to say, it is not possible to perform a puncture to obtain a tissue sample, since there is a risk of spreading the cancerous cells, for example gall bladder cancer, or ovarian or testicular cancer, or when there is suspicion of pancreatic cancer. In these cases it is necessary to perform other tests, such as blood tests, imaging tests, among others.
But in general the vast majority of tissues are susceptible to be punctured by a needle and obtain a sample or incisional, that is to say, a fragment of an organ or a complete organ is removed, with the intention of being studied at the histopathological level.
I must say that the performance of biopsies and their subsequent study is the cornerstone of cancer treatment. That talking about the need to perform a biopsy on a patient, just that possibility, scares both the patient and his entire family, and that I will always insist on the importance of humanity in the health sector, because the diseases that affect patients are more than enough to cause pain and suffering.
I hope that this publication has been to your liking and that you are left with knowledge from it. Thank you for reading.
