Can a blood test be used to check for bone cancer?

Currently, one in eight deaths worldwide is caused by cancer, with new cases mainly coming from developing countries, with the highest number in China! As cancer becomes the "norm", people's awareness of prevention is also increasing, and having a health check-up every year has become a new health fashion. So, can a blood test detect bone cancer?

Can a blood test detect bone cancer?

As of today, blood tests (tumor markers) can only screen for some cancers, not all. Even if the test results are high, it does not necessarily mean cancer. For example, elevated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) may be elevated in pregnant women, cirrhosis, and chronic hepatitis patients, in addition to liver cancer patients. Generally speaking, complete cancer screening is a combination of multiple examination methods (such as medical history, symptoms, physical examination, radiation, ultrasound, and laboratory tests), rather than relying on just one type of examination. Therefore, it is a bit sloppy to determine bone cancer only by blood tests. Other examinations are also required as follows.

Radiology bone cancer screening:

X-rays, angiography, lymphovascular photography and other examinations are performed on the affected bones, and a differential diagnosis of malignant and benign bone tumors is made according to the properties shown in the photos. Generally, the reliability of the diagnosis by experienced radiologists can reach 90%, especially bone cancer examinations such as computer tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, angiography and nuclear medicine bone isotope scanning, which are more accurate and convenient.

Pathological tissue section bone cancer examination:

There are three methods: (1) Acupuncture sampling for bone cancer examination, with a success rate of 80% to 90%. (2) Opening the affected part for bone cancer examination. (3) Excision or scraping for pathological examination: Tissue pathological examination is performed by a bone cancer pathologist based on the pathological changes in the sliced ​​tissue to make the final correct bone cancer examination diagnosis.

The above is an introduction to the examinations needed for bone cancer. Here we would like to remind everyone that in daily life, if you feel any discomfort, you should go to the hospital for examination as soon as possible, so that you can seek medical treatment early and prevent the disease.