How to check blood metastasis of lung cancer

How to check the blood metastasis of lung cancer? If the cancer is not effectively controlled, it will spread rapidly to other organs. For lung cancer, its spread and metastasis mainly include direct spread, lymphatic metastasis, and blood metastasis.

How to detect blood metastasis of lung cancer?

Detection of carcinoembryonic antigen messenger RNA in blood

There are three pathways of hematogenous metastasis of lung cancer:

Direct Diffusion

After lung cancer is formed, the tumor will grow along the bronchial wall into the bronchial cavity, causing partial or complete obstruction of the bronchial cavity. The tumor can also directly spread and invade into adjacent lung tissue, or even penetrate the interlobar fissures and invade other adjacent lobes. In addition, the growing and expanding tumor will also invade other tissues and organs in the chest.

Lymphatic metastasis

Lymphatic metastasis is a common route of cancer spread, and lung cancer is no exception. Among them, small cell carcinoma can metastasize via the lymph nodes in the early stages of cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma also often spread via lymphatic metastasis. Cancer cells first invade the lymph nodes around the adjacent lung segments or lobar bronchi through the lymphatic ducts around the bronchi and pulmonary blood vessels, and then reach the hilar or subcarinal lymph nodes, or invade the mediastinal and paratracheal lymph nodes, depending on the location of the lung cancer, and finally involve the supraclavicular anterior scalene lymph nodes and cervical lymph nodes. Generally speaking, metastasis to the mediastinal, paratracheal, and cervical lymph nodes occurs on the same side of the lung cancer, and when it occurs on the opposite side, it is called cross metastasis. After lung cancer invades the chest wall or diaphragm, it can continue to metastasize to the axillary or upper abdominal para-aortic lymph nodes.

Hematogenous metastasis

Hematogenous metastasis is one of the metastatic pathways of lung cancer and is also one of the manifestations of advanced lung cancer. Among them, hematogenous metastasis of small cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma is more common than that of squamous cell carcinoma. Cancer cells directly penetrate into the pulmonary veins and then metastasize to organs and tissues throughout the body, such as the liver, bones, brain, adrenal glands, etc., through the left heart along with the large blood circulation.