An examination of cancer

1. Tumor markers

Although tumor markers lack specificity, they still have certain value in assisting diagnosis and prognostic judgment. Mainly include enzyme tests, such as alkaline phosphatase, which can be significantly increased in patients with liver cancer and osteosarcoma; glycoproteins, such as lung cancer serum ɑ acid glycoprotein, can be increased, and digestive system tumors CA19-9, etc.; tumor-related antigens For example, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) can be increased in gastrointestinal tumors, lung cancer, and breast cancer, and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) can be increased in liver cancer and malignant teratoma.

2. Genetic testing

Including the detection of gene expression products, gene amplification detection and gene mutation detection, it can determine whether there is a specific gene of tumor or cancer to make a diagnosis.

3. Imaging examination

(1) X-ray examination includes fluoroscopy and plain film. For example, some peripheral lung cancer and bone tumors can have specific shadows on plain film; contrast examination, such as upper gastrointestinal angiography, may find esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, etc., barium enema can show colon cancer Etc.; Special X-ray imaging, such as mammography for breast cancer.

(2) Ultrasound examination is simple and non-invasive. It is widely used in the examination of liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, kidney, thyroid, breast and other parts. It can also perform needle biopsy of tumor under the guidance of ultrasound, with a high success rate.

(3) Computed tomography (CT) examination is often used for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of intracranial tumors, solid organ tumors, solid masses and lymph nodes. CT examination has high resolution and clear imaging, which can detect early tumors in certain organs without symptoms. Low-dose spiral CT can reduce the radiation dose to the human body, and the image clarity can also meet clinical needs, so that large-area screening of high-risk groups of certain tumors can be achieved, such as early screening of lung cancer. A good result.

(4) Radionuclide imaging Depending on the uptake of different elements by different tumors, different radionuclides are used to image the tumor. The positive rate of the diagnosis of bone tumors is relatively high, and it can also be used to display thyroid tumors, liver tumors, brain tumors, etc.

(5) Magnetic resonance (MRI) Compared with CT, it has better contrast resolution, no bone artifacts, and can display any cross-sections. It is the first choice for the examination of central nervous system and spinal cord tumors. It also has certain value for observing the relationship between tumor and blood vessels, mediastinal tumors, enlarged lymph nodes, and pelvic tumors.

(6) Positron emission tomography (PET) uses positron nuclides as the tracer, and reconstructs the tomographic image of the tracer in the body through the gamma photons generated by the positron, which can reflect the level of tissue metabolism. The imaging technology has a high accuracy rate for the qualitative diagnosis of solid tumors and the detection of metastases.

4. Endoscopy

It is the application of endoscopy and endoscopy to directly observe tumors or other lesions in cavities and body cavities, and tissues or cells can be taken for histopathological diagnosis. Commonly used are gastroscopy, bronchoscopy, colonoscopy, proctoscopy, and laparoscopy , Thoracoscopy, hysteroscope, colposcopy, cystoscopy, ureteroscopy, etc.

5. Pathological examination

Pathological examination is the current examination method with diagnostic significance.

(1) Clinical cytological examinations include natural exfoliated cells in body fluids, such as sputum, urine sediment, pleural effusion, abdominal effusion, and vaginal smears; mucosal cell examinations, such as esophageal mesh, stomach Mucosal eluate, cervical scraping, and endoscopic tumor surface brushing to remove cells; fine needle aspiration cell inspection, such as aspiration of tumor cells with a needle and syringe for smear staining inspection, etc. Cytological examination is simple and widely used, but in most cases only qualitative cytological diagnosis can be made, and sometimes the diagnosis is difficult.

(2) Histopathological examination According to the different parts, size and nature of the tumor, different methods of obtaining materials are adopted. For superficial tumors of the cavity organ mucosa, tissues are usually obtained during endoscopy for pathological examination; deep or large and complete tumors on the body surface should be subjected to needle biopsy; part of the tumor tissue is cut for rapid pathological examination during surgery . Pigmented nodules or moles are generally not taken or biopsy, and should be completely excised for inspection. Various types of biopsy have the potential to promote the spread of malignant tumors, and need to be performed shortly before or during surgery.