Biopsies at UPMC Lab Services

What Is a Biopsy?

A biopsy is when a doctor removes a tissue sample from the body to test for a disease. They may also look for other changes that may show your risk for disease.

The method your doctor or surgeon uses depends on the disease they suspect and where it is in your body.

They may remove tissue by:

Needle.
Minimally invasive surgery.
Standard surgery.

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Common Tissue Samples We Test With a Biopsy

Tissue samples often come from 1 of the organs or organ systems below and help us diagnose common diseases.

Bone marrow, blood, and lymph node

Bone marrow, blood, and lymph node biopsies play a vital role in diagnosing blood disorders, such as:

Leukemia.
Lymphoma.
Anemia.

Breast

Breast biopsies decide whether a breast lump is cancer or benign.

They reveal health issues like:

Breast cancer.
Fibrocystic breasts.
Breast duct papilloma.

Colon and stomach

Colon and stomach biopsies are key to diagnosing issues with your digestive health, such as:

Lung

Lung biopsies diagnose lung issues like:

Lung cancer.
Pulmonary fibrosis.
Pneumonia.

Prostate

A prostate biopsy looks for cancer cells within the prostate gland.

They can help diagnose health problems like:

Benign prostatic hypertrophy/hyperplasia.
Prostate.

Skin

Skin biopsies assess issues such as:

Uterus, cervix, and ovary

These biopsy tissue samples diagnose and assess health issues like:

Cervical cancer.
Endometriosis.
HPV (human papillomavirus).
Ovarian cancer.

Thyroid

Thyroid biopsies assess nodules for cancer or to see if they're benign.

Some issues we diagnose through thyroid biopsies are:

Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
Thyroid cancer.

What Happens to My Biopsy Sample in the Lab?

After your doctor or surgeon takes your tissue sample, they send it to the pathology lab in a secure container.

When your tissue sample arrives in the pathology lab, our experts assign it a unique number.

Then we:

Preserve your sample in special fluids.
Weigh and measure it.
Embed it in special paraffin wax.
Cut the sample into thin slices and look at it under the microscope.

We also use other testing techniques if needed.

After we study your sample, we:

Decide whether the tissue is normal or diseased.
Write a pathology report to explain our biopsy findings to your doctor.

The process most often takes 48 to 72 hours from biopsy to diagnosis. But in some cases, it may take longer.