Surgery may be used to determine the diagnosis of cancer, determine its stage (or extent), and/or to remove the cancer.
One common type of surgery that may be used to help with diagnosing cancer is a biopsy. A biopsy involves taking a tissue sample from the suspected cancer for examination by a specialist (pathologist) in a laboratory and is often performed in the physician’s office or in an outpatient surgery center.
A positive biopsy indicates the presence of cancer; a negative biopsy may indicate that no cancer is present in the sample.
When surgery is used for treatment, the cancer and some tissue adjacent to the cancer are typically removed. In addition to providing treatment of the cancer, information gained during surgery is useful in predicting the likelihood of cancer recurrence and whether other treatment modalities will be necessary.
For detailed information on surgical techniques used for specific types of cancer click on one of the links below.
