What is a lymph node biopsy?
A lymph node biopsy is a procedure to take out all or part of a lymph node to check it for cancer cells. (If you have tumors only outside of your lymph nodes, your physician will biopsy that tissue instead.) A biopsy is the only way to be sure if someone has non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
For NHL, physicians usually cut through the skin to remove a whole lymph node (excisional biopsy) or a small part of a lymph node (incisional biopsy). Another option is to take out a small amount of tissue using a very thin needle (fine needle aspiration biopsy) or a larger needle (core needle biopsy) pushed through the skin. This is less common because it might not give your care team enough tissue to examine.
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How a Lymph Node Biopsy Can Diagnose Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
A lymph node biopsy gives details about the type and subtype of cancer you have. Knowing your subtype is important. Each subtype behaves differently and needs different treatment.
A hematopathologist is a physician who specializes in checking samples from the blood and lymph systems. They use a microscope to carefully study your tissue sample. First, they check to see if the cells are cancer. If they find cancer cells, they do tests to get more details about the type and subtype.
When you choose Fred Hutch Cancer Center for care, our experts confirm your NHL diagnosis. An experienced Fred Hutch hematopathologist looks carefully at your pathology slides (samples from your biopsy) and finds your exact NHL subtype. Narrowing down the subtype can be a challenge. Our hematopathologists are very experienced in doing this. If needed, we will do further tests on your tissue sample. Knowing your subtype helps your hematologist-oncologist decide which treatments will likely work best for you and when your treatment should start. For example, some subtypes respond well to certain medicines but not others. Some subtypes are best treated early on. For others, treatment is still important, but it’s less urgent. At Fred Hutch, our NHL experts know what to recommend for every subtype.