Gastrointestinal Pathology

Just behind skin biopsies, biopsies of the gastrointestinal tract are probably the most common types of biopsies that pathologists receive for interpretation. Gastrointestinal biopsies include those from the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and anus. Biopsies from the liver and pancreas could also be placed in this group. Undergoing a screening colonoscopy procedure is important for most people starting at the age of 50 years old. A lot of the colonoscopy or upper endoscopy (evaluation of the upper GI tract such as the esophagus and stomach) procedures will end up producing biopsies of either polyps or other lesions. These biopsies are interpreted by pathologists. Most polyps are benign or precancerous lesions but these types of polyps, especially those in the colon, can give information regarding the necessity of performing additional procedures sooner or to go on a standard screening protocol. Cancers of the gastrointestinal tract may require specialized procedures such as Her2 testing or microsatellite instability evaluation. The Pathology Group is familiar with these protocols and can perform and evaluate these specialized tests.