What are the main examination methods for lung cancer? A complete list of examination methods for diagnosing lung cancer

Some patients with lung cancer neglect to pay attention to their health status, which results in a rapid deterioration of their condition. Therefore, how can patients detect the existence of the disease early has become a question in the minds of many people. In this regard, experts say: Modern scientific medical equipment can be used to find the existence of the disease.

Lung cancer screening methods

After lung cancer is suspected through clinical symptoms and chest X-rays, patients need further examinations to clarify the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. The first is qualitative examination, that is, obtaining pathological or cytological diagnosis, including sputum examination, bronchoscopy, mediastinoscopy, puncture biopsy, pleural effusion drainage cytology, thoracotomy and exploration, etc., to obtain tumor tissue or cells for pathological analysis to clarify the diagnosis of lung cancer; the second is positioning and staging examination, mainly through CT scan, nuclear magnetic resonance, pET-CT, and bone scanning imaging, to clarify the location of lung cancer and whether there is metastasis, and the location of metastatic lesions. The treatment strategy is formulated through the above pathological examination, staging examination, and the patient's organ function status. In addition, blood tumor markers such as CEA, NSE, CA125, etc. are also required to help the diagnosis of lung cancer. .

Common laboratory tests for lung cancer

Sputum cytology, pleural effusion cytology, and tumor tissue pathology tests such as bronchoscopy, mediastinoscopy, and puncture biopsy. Used to guide clinical treatment: EGFR mutation detection, ALK translocation detection, etc. Blood lung tumor markers are mainly used for auxiliary diagnosis, treatment and follow-up: including CEA, CA125, NSE, SCC, Cyfra21-1, etc.

Sputum cytology is a test in which doctors ask suspected lung cancer patients to collect sputum specimens, make smears, and then look for cancer cells under a microscope. The specificity of sputum cytology is 99%, so the discovery of cancer cells in sputum can basically confirm cancer. However, the sensitivity of sputum cytology is low, only 66%. To put it simply, only 66 out of 100 lung cancer patients will have a positive sputum test. It is also related to the number and quality of the specimens sent for examination. Therefore, if no cancer cells are found in the sputum test, the possibility of lung cancer cannot be ruled out and further examination is needed.

The discovery of cancer cells in pleural effusion can confirm cancer. However, the positive rate of pleural effusion cytology is only 40-75%, so the absence of cancer cells in pleural effusion cannot completely rule out the diagnosis of cancer. Multiple tests can increase the detection rate.

Serum tumor markers related to lung cancer include CEA, CA125, NSE, SCC, Cyfra21-1, etc. However, the sensitivity and specificity of these indicators are not high, so their value in lung cancer diagnosis is limited. Some lung cancer patients do not have high tumor markers. Currently, tumor markers are mainly used to monitor treatment response, early monitoring of recurrence, and prognosis.

Experts remind: Lung cancer seriously threatens the physical and mental health of patients. Therefore, we must be vigilant, which is also a way to detect the disease. In addition, it is also very important to take relevant preventive measures to deal with the disease in normal times, which can effectively reduce the incidence of the disease.