Four commonly used imaging examinations for esophageal cancer

In addition to helping to clearly diagnose esophageal cancer, imaging examinations can also provide patients with esophageal cancer with tumor staging information in order to design reasonable treatment plans and assess prognosis.

There are many imaging examinations for esophageal cancer, such as barium meal contrast examination, CT examination, MR examination and intracavitary ultrasound examination. Each imaging examination method has its advantages and limitations. For example, esophageal barium meal contrast examination can only observe and understand the situation in the esophageal cavity, but cannot understand whether the tumor has invaded or metastasized; CT and MR examinations are helpful for observing whether the tumor has invaded or metastasized, but cannot show the overall picture of the lesions in the esophageal cavity. Among them, esophageal barium meal contrast examination is a simple, economical, practical and effective method for diagnosing esophageal tumors.

X-ray examination

Esophageal radiography is the simplest and most practical method for diagnosing esophageal cancer. When using this method, attention should be paid to the modulation of barium to make it have good adhesion and fluidity, and the best time and filming time for showing the lesions should be selected. In addition to taking left and right anterior oblique site films for local lesions, lateral films should be taken for the cervical esophagus to show its relationship with the trachea.

CT scan

Patients should be examined on an empty stomach. Enhanced scanning helps to show the adjacent cardiac vessels and improve contrast. Patients are usually placed in a supine position and swallow dilute iodine solution and gas to show the esophageal cavity. With reference to esophageal radiographs, thin-layer scanning or reconstruction is performed at the lesion site to reduce the partial volume effect and make the relationship between the tumor and surrounding structures clear.

MRI

Fasting scan, T1 and T2 weighted images, local thin layers continuous without gaps, cross-sectional and sagittal scans can show the relationship between the tumor and surrounding tissues, and the coronal plane helps to observe the mediastinal lymph nodes.

Intraesophageal ultrasound

Using a 7.5MHz transducer, its spatial resolution can reach 0.2mm and its penetration depth can reach 5cm~7cm, which can display all layers of the esophageal wall and regional lymph nodes.