How effective is endometrial biopsy for womb cancer?

A clinician passes a slender instrument through the cervix to collect tissue from the endometrium, the inner lining of the womb. A laboratory examines the cells for cancer and describes features that help guide treatment. The sample can also identify non-cancerous changes and some causes of abnormal bleeding. Because it removes tissue from a limited area, it may not capture a focal abnormality, and it does not map whether disease has reached the muscle of the womb or elsewhere. Ultrasound, hysteroscopy or surgery may therefore be discussed.

Tell the clinician about pregnancy possibility, medicines that affect bleeding, allergies and previous cervical procedures. You may have cramping and light bleeding afterward; follow the specific aftercare advice provided. Arrange a results appointment rather than relying on symptoms to judge the outcome. If the sample is insufficient or symptoms continue despite a reassuring result, ask whether another method is appropriate.

Contact your care team for heavy or prolonged bleeding, worsening pelvic pain, fever, unpleasant-smelling discharge or dizziness after the procedure. Seek urgent help for severe pain, fainting or bleeding that makes you feel weak. Unexpected bleeding after menopause or repeated bleeding between periods also deserves timely clinical assessment, regardless of a previous result.

Ask whether the sample was adequate, what the laboratory found, whether the result explains your bleeding, and whether imaging or hysteroscopy is needed to assess the womb more fully.