Can ordinary CT detect lung cancer?

Ordinary CT may refer to CT plain scan examination. Whether lung cancer can be found needs to be analyzed in combination with the actual situation. If lung cancer is in the stage of carcinoma in situ, CT plain scan examination may not be able to find it. However, if it has entered the stage of local infiltration and lymph node metastasis, it can be found through CT plain scan examination.

CT scan is a commonly used medical imaging technology in clinical practice and is a type of X-ray examination. It can scan body structures and assist in the diagnosis of diseases. Lung cancer is a malignant tumor that occurs in the lung epithelial tissue, forms a cancer focus at the primary site, and invades other tissues and organs through the lymphatic system and blood circulation system. When lung cancer is in the carcinoma in situ stage, the cancerous tissue is relatively small and difficult to detect through examination. In particular, tumors with a diameter of less than 1 cm and tumors in special locations are difficult to detect.

If lung cancer has entered the stage of local invasion and lymph node metastasis, it can usually be discovered through this examination. Since the cancer has grown to a certain extent at this stage, its volume, shape and edge condition can be preliminarily screened through CT scan. However, imaging examinations cannot directly diagnose lung cancer, and biopsy of the tissue is the gold standard for diagnosing the nature of the tumor.

It is recommended that people with high-risk factors for lung cancer, such as a family history of lung cancer, occupational exposure history, and long-term smoking history, seek medical attention regularly for targeted lung cancer prevention screening to avoid unknowingly developing cancer. If you have symptoms of respiratory diseases such as long-term coughing, hemoptysis, chest tightness, and shortness of breath, you should also seek medical attention as soon as possible. Once diagnosed with lung cancer, you should actively cooperate with the doctor for comprehensive treatment to control the development of the disease.