Needle biopsies, widely used and accepted as a safe
and reliable test for cancer, may not be safe after all.
The concern is that the technique may accidentally cause
malignant cells to break away from a tumor, allowing it
to spread to other areas of the body. And according to a
study from the John Wayne Cancer Institute, it appears
that a needle biopsy may increase the spread of cancer
by 50 percent compared to patients who received
excisional biopsies, also known as lumpectomies.
The study involved 663 women with diagnosed breast
cancer. About half were biopsied with either a fine
needle aspiration (FNA) or a large-gauge needle core
biopsy; the other half underwent physical removal of
their tumor (or lumpectomy).
It was found that women who had either type of needle
biopsy were 50 percent more likely to have cancer in
their sentinel nodes, which are used as a marker to
determine whether the cancer has spread, than women who
had the whole tumor removed surgically.
The finding represents a major impact to patients, as
those whose cancer has spread to their lymph nodes are
automatically classified as having higher stage cancer
and face more invasive, aggressive treatments including
the possible dissection of the affected chain of lymph
nodes, chemotherapy, radiation and/or hormonal therapy
to eliminate the spreading cancer cells.
Those who have small tumors isolated to the breast
are classified as stage I cancer, and the lumpectomy may
remove all of the cancer from the breast.
The authors report that the needle biopsy itself, of
which tens of thousands are performed in the United
States each year, may have been responsible for
spreading the cancer in the study participants via
"mechanical disruption of the tumor by the needle."
There are some clear advantages to the needle biopsy,
including:
- They're nearly painless in-office procedures.
- They're less expensive than surgical biopsies.
- They're faster than surgical biopsies.
However, a tumor may need to be punctured four to six
times to retrieve an adequate amount of tissue for
diagnostic purposes, and whether this runs the risk of
spreading the cancer--into the track formed by the
needle or by spilling cells directly into the lymphatic
system or bloodstream--is a concept that's been debated
for some time.
Needle Biopsies and the
Liver
And the issue spreads beyond needle biopsies for
breast cancer.
A British Medical Journal study reported that
fine-needle biopsies of the liver might allow the tumor
to be "seeded" in the track of the needle (along with
presenting a small increased risk of hemorrhage). While
some authors say the seeding occurs in only .003 percent
to .07 percent of cases, others say that it occurs .4
percent to 5.1 percent of the time. Using these
estimates, it's possible that one in 20 needle biopsies
of the liver result in a new tumor.
"Your Cancer has Spread"
Imagine hearing those words as a patient, and then
learning that the spread occurred not because of a
natural progression but because of the very diagnostic
technique that doctors performed. Aside from the
emotional aspects a patient must face upon hearing this
news, they will likely be subjected to aggressive
radiation and chemotherapy, all with their own set of
side effects, to stop the spread.
This may be the reason why the John Wayne Cancer
study, and the one in the British Medical Journal, have
not been widely published by the media--the outrage the
public would feel upon learning such news, that needle
biopsies may not actually be safe, could bring upon
demands for safer diagnostic techniques and class-action
lawsuits galore, all upsetting the "smooth-flowing
cancer industry."
Other Diagnostic Options
To patients looking to avoid needle biopsies, other
options (each with their own ups and downs) do exist.
These include:
- Imaging techniques such as CT, MRI, PET scans
and ultrasound.
- Thermography, which detects abnormal patterns of
heat emanating from areas of high metabolic
activity.
CancerDecisions.com January 30, 2005
CancerDecisions.com February 6, 2005
Dr. Mercola's
Comment:
The main finding of this study is quite alarming:
Needle biopsies that are commonly used in the diagnosis
of cancer may actually increase the spread of the cancer
by 50 percent compared to patients who do not receive
it.
If you carefully read Dr. Ralph Moss' full report
you will find it delves more extensively into the
history of needle biopsies, and you learn that their use
has progressively grown over the past 80 years despite
warnings from some experts as far back as 1940.
Additionally,
a more recent study in the British Medical Journal
that warned against needle biopsies of the liver for
similar reasons was simply dismissed as tabloid
journalism.
I believe one of the best non-toxic options to
needle biopsies may be thermography. I ran
a review on thermography about this technique about
five years ago. While I believe it is likely diagnostic
cancer tools will always be necessary, the ideal
scenario is to never need them. Why not reduce your
chances of ever getting cancer, and therefore eliminate
your need for a biopsy, in the first place? In the
United States, over 175 people learn that they have
cancer every hour, but that simply does not have to be
the case.
Considering how important this issue is for nearly
everyone you know it might be a good one to forward to
your friends and relatives. You can easily do this by
using the E-mail to a friend button in the upper right
hand section of this page, just under the search box.
You can make a larger impact if you write them a
personal message in the e-mail as to why they should
seriously consider the advice--and why they may want to
subscribe to the newsletter.
Here are some key strategies that will help you
prevent cancer:
-
Control your insulin levels. Make certain that
you limit your intake of as much processed foods and
sugars as possible.
- Get appropriate amounts of
animal based omega-3 fats and make sure you use
cod liver oil if you don't have regular access to
sun exposure.
- Get appropriate
exercise. One of the primary reasons exercise
works is that it drives your insulin levels down and
controlling insulin levels is one of the most
powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks.
- Normalize your vitamin D levels with a
safe amount of sun exposure. This works by
primarily by optimizing your vitamin D level. If you
have regular access to sun exposure than you should
use fish oil, not cod liver oil, as your primary
source of omega-3 fats. Ideally it would be best to
monitor your vitamin D level.
- Eat according to your
metabolic type. This is very much
underappreciated as to just how potent an
anti-cancer effect this is. When we treat cancer
patients in our clinic this is one of the most
powerful anti-cancer strategies we have.
- Have a tool to permanently erase the
neurological short-circuiting that can activate
cancer genes. Even the CDC states that
85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. It
is likely that this factor may be more important
than all the other physical ones listed here, so
make sure this is addressed. Energy psychology seems
to be one of the best approaches and my particular
favorite tool, as you may know, is
Emotional Freedom Technique.
- Only 25 percent of people eat enough
vegetables, so by all means
eat as many vegetables as you are comfortable with.
Ideally they should be fresh and
organic. However, please understand that
frequently fresh vegetables are healthier than
organic ones that are older and wilted in the
grocery store and they are certainly better than no
vegetables, so don't use that as an excuse. If you
are a carb metabolic type you may need up to 300
percent more vegetables than a protein metabolic
type.
- Make sure you are not in the two-thirds of
the population who are overweight and
maintain an ideal body weight.
- Get enough
high-quality sleep.
- Reduce your
exposure to environmental toxins like
pesticides, household chemical cleaners,
synthetic air fresheners and air pollution.
- Boil, poach or steam your foods, rather than
frying or charbroiling them.
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