A GP primer to understanding biopsy reports of the lower gastrointestinal tract

Colonoscopic biopsies are taken to make a diagnosis of inflammation, dysplasia or malignancy, to assess treatment success and to monitor patients' progression.

This aim of this article is to provide a guide to understanding histology reports sent to the general practitioner (GP) from the colonoscopy and anatomical pathology departments for the diagnosis of increasingly prevalent gastrointestinal (GI) diseases.

Many diseases in the lower GI tract are increasing in prevalence and new diseases are emerging that require biopsy for diagnosis. Cancer surveillance programs require colonoscopy for polyp detection, and histology to evaluate polyps and subsequent cancer risk in the large bowel. Inflammatory bowel disease is also increasing in incidence, and patients are diagnosed and monitored with endoscopy and biopsy. Drugs can also affect the GI tract and endoscopy can detect damage with confirmation by biopsy.