Surgery to Stage Cancer

Surgery to Stage Cancer

One of the things that makes cancer so difficult to treat is that it spreads throughout the body. When cancer is in its first stage, localized to just one spot, it is relatively easy to treat. As cancer reaches its final stages, when it has spread far from its original source, it becomes increasingly difficult to treat.

Doctors use surgery to determine if the cancer has spread, and, if it has, how far. Medical professionals refer to this process as “staging surgery” because it helps them determine the stage of the cancer’s progression.

Anton Bilchik MD has performed extensive research into staging. He is also one of the nation’s leading cancer surgeons. As such, he thought you should know more about how he uses surgery to stage cancer.

Staging surgery usually focuses on a procedure known as a biopsy, where the surgeon removes a small bit of tissue from the patient’s body to send for laboratory testing.  In the lab, a doctor uses a microscope to look for cancer cells in the biopsied tissue.

A surgeon can perform many different procedures to obtain a biopsy. Some are surgical procedures, while others involve the use of a flexible, lighted tube known as an endoscopy. The doctor may remove the entire tumor during the biopsy procedure, known as excisional biopsy, or just part of the tumor in an incisional biopsy. Doctors have developed many ways to get a biopsy, including the use of needles, endoscopes, and open surgery.

During fine needle aspiration, a doctor uses a very thin needle and syringe to pull out small bits of tissue through a tiny incision in the skin; he may use ultrasound or CT to guide the needle. Core needle biopsy uses a larger needle, handy for larger or deeper tumors.

There are many types of endoscopy, depending on what part of the body the doctor tests. A gastroscopy is an endoscopy of the stomach, for example, while an endoscopy of the colon is a colonoscopy. A doctor can attach an ultrasound device to the lighted tube so that he can take pictures of the tumor and surrounding tissue.

Sometimes Anton Bilchik MD performs a laparotomy, a major surgical procedure, when less invasive procedures cannot provide a biopsy. Contact Anton Bilchik to learn more about surgery to stage cancer.