Puncture biopsy does not lead to metastasis or spread of cancer cells.
Puncture is a very common biopsy method in oncology, which is a diagnostic and therapeutic technique to insert a puncture needle into the body cavity to extract secretions for laboratory tests, to inject gas or contrast agent into the body cavity for imaging tests, or to inject drugs into the body cavity. In fact, the purpose of puncture is to draw blood for laboratory tests, transfuse blood and fluids and place catheters for angiography.
Tumor puncture biopsy is a necessary step in the further diagnosis of cancer, mainly to further confirm whether the tumor is benign or malignant. In real life, when many people mention puncture surgery, not only the patient will feel afraid, even the family members are very worried, and many people think that puncture will lead to tumor metastasis. As a matter of fact, this is also nonsense. Puncture will not cause metastasis of cancer cells at all, and there are several reasons for saying so:
One of the reasons is that the needles used for tumor puncture are generally small (generally 0.4-0.7 mm), and the trauma to the normal tissues and tumors is also very small.
The second reason is that the puncture site is usually far away from larger blood vessels, in which case it is also impossible for cancer cells to enter the bloodstream.
Thirdly, it is because the examination time of the puncture is also very short. If the result of the examination is malignant, the doctor will immediately remove the tissues around the passage of the puncture needle for the patient to avoid the occurrence of cancer cell implantation. Because the time is relatively short, it is also simply too late for the cancer cells to metastasize. In addition, the doctor will quickly give the patient chemotherapy or targeted drugs to kill the primary tumor in a targeted manner. During this process, the cancer cells that come off with the puncture needle channel cannot withstand the powerful attack of the drugs and will be killed very quickly.
It is also because of these three reasons mentioned above that puncture will not lead to metastasis of cancer cells at all, so there is no need to worry at all.
It's worth mentioning that just in the Chinese Expert*** Knowledge on Puncture Biopsy of Chest Tumors released in 2018, it is clearly stated that puncture is able to reduce the probability of misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis, and has a crucial role in the follow-up treatment of tumors. To give a simple example, for example, lung cancer, generally speaking, the results of lung cancer on imaging are only shadows and small nodules, and if you want to further confirm the diagnosis accurately, it is necessary to get a sample of live tumor cells.
Overall, the puncture is just a minimally invasive procedure, and usually before the puncture, the doctor will examine the patient in various aspects, such as blood routine, coagulation function, electrocardiogram and so on, and, of course, for exactly what tests to be done, the whole life will be explained. So, what are the precautions to be taken when performing a puncture procedure? Generally speaking, but any patient who has to undergo puncture is basically already between tumor and malignant tumor, some patients have even been admitted to the hospital for treatment, no matter what, the doctor will carry out a detailed examination of the patient and give a reasonable treatment method.
All in all, puncture biopsy will not lead to metastasis or spread of cancer cells, so there is no need to worry too much.