Biopsy

[Crickie]

Hello again,

I'm having a biopsy Friday -general anesthesia. I'm also on carbo/taxol chemo -had 3 of 6 treatments. MRI shows tumors grown, that's the reason for biopsy. Dr. says extra growth could be scar tissue growing on tumor???

Could this  be? Also, if biopsy is negative...I continue the original treatment. Question: If it's negative, why continue treatment? Doesn't that mean the I don't have the cancer??

Dr very vague when I asked these questions. I'm quite confused and concerned regarding surgical biopsy.

[MickeyVicki]

Perhaps the doctor has no real idea of what he will find, so he does not know what to say about it. Can they tell the difference in scar tissue and a tumor on a scan?    Or can they just tell that there is something that should not be there?

I have heard of people undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment which the doctors believed was having no effect on the tumor, only to discover upon doing a biopsy that the tumor was completely dead and what showed on the ct scan was the remaining  dead lump of what had been cancer.

[Crickie]

Thanks for your reply -doctor made it quite clear this is only a biopsy -not a second debaulking. I had asked for the tumors to be removed originally (before the chemo started) and he said it was inoperable. He now states that trying to remove one of the tumors is "risky" -too many consequences -he would tell me what they were should I have to operate as a last resort. He wants the biopsy to confirm if it is cancer growing or if its scar tissue.

What I don't seem to comprehend is: Why ask if its cancer when they told me to have chemo because it was a recurrence?(diagnosed through PET/CT, MRI and rising CA125). My CA is lowering (it's always been normal range since recurrence). How can a tumor that was considered cancer now become a scar tissue?

[MickeyVicki]

Even if the tumor itself is 'dead', there can still be cancerous cells floating about in the body.  The chemotherapy should kill those cells.  In fact, you will likely be placed on a maintenance regime to aid in the prevention of any return of the cancer.

Until the surgery, the doctor will not know what the tumor is.  However, will the doctor just do a biopsy, or will there be a further debulking of cancer?  It can be quite common for surgeons to do a second cancer removal surgery, and studies show that to be of help in prolonging the patient's life.