Could seeding of tumor cells along the track of the biopsy needle result in new tumors?
“The objective of a biopsy is to obtain enough tissue/cells to make or confirm a diagnosis of GIST (or perhaps to rule it out). Obviously, pathologists are the ones who make this determination. Biopsies can be guided by a CT-scan or abdominal ultrasound to sample tissue from the tumor.” [Fine-needle biopsies obtain less tissue than core-needle biopsies, but the needle path is more protected from biopsy-tissue contact using the core-needle technique.] “I want to emphasize that the controversy over the use of a needle biopsies centers solely on new, primary tumors for which GIST is on the list of possibilities. On the one hand, such a biopsy may lead to a diagnosis of lymphoma, which is generally not treated by surgery (thus sparing the patient a procedure). On the other hand, a needle biopsy could allow GIST cells to seed the abdominal cavity. I am not aware of any hard data on exactly how big this risk is.” “The ACS site that you mention is probably quoting the NCCN guidelines that wer
