What are the diagnostic and examination methods for liver cancer? The 7 most common liver cancer examination methods

Liver cancer is a type of cancer that we need to pay close attention to. Do you know how to better check for liver cancer? Try the following examination methods.

If we want to have a deeper understanding of liver cancer, we need to make a detailed introduction to the pathology of liver cancer, which has a very important impact on the treatment of patients. Only after the doctor has confirmed the patient's condition, conducted effective comparative analysis, and developed a treatment plan suitable for the patient, can he truly help the patient, relieve pain, prolong life, and improve the patient's quality of life.

Routine liver cancer screening

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFp) testing

AFp is currently one of the most specific methods for diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma. It is relatively specific and plays a positive role in diagnosis, judging efficacy, estimating prognosis, and preventing recurrence.

Blood enzyme tests

It mainly refers to the isoenzymes of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase. The measured values ​​can be significantly higher than the normal range, but due to its lack of specificity, it is mostly used as an auxiliary diagnostic test for liver cancer.

Angiography

Angiography still plays a certain role in the diagnosis of liver cancer. It can make a more accurate and rapid diagnosis of small liver cancers less than 2 cm. However, due to its certain trauma, it has not been widely used in clinical practice.

CT

Currently, it is the most important imaging method for liver cancer diagnosis and differential diagnosis. It is used to observe the morphology and blood supply of liver cancer, the detection, characterization, and staging of liver cancer, and the follow-up after liver cancer treatment. Plain scan has limited value and can be used to observe fatty changes, bleeding, and deposition after iodized oil embolization. Enhanced scan should be considered routine, and direct enhanced scan is feasible, and plain scan can be added as needed.

B-mode ultrasonography

Ultrasound examination can not only clearly show the size and shape of the tumor and detect lesions with a diameter of 2 cm or even smaller, but it is also easy to operate and low in cost. Therefore, it is currently the best non-invasive examination method with positioning value.

MRI

MRI examination is a powerful supplement to the imaging diagnosis of liver cancer, and it is becoming more and more important with the development of magnetic resonance technology. It has advantages in the detection and characterization of liver cancer in the context of fatty liver and cirrhosis, and in the determination of residual and recurrent tumors after interventional treatment of liver cancer. MRI plain scan has high tissue resolution and can analyze the internal structure of the lesion. Enhanced scan can understand the blood supply of the tumor. The combination of plain scan and enhanced scan is more helpful for the examination and diagnosis of liver cancer.

pET-CT

This examination is the most advanced imaging equipment currently available. It can be used to confirm the primary lesion and detect metastatic lesions throughout the body. Especially in identifying metastatic lesions, it has far more advantages than CT and other examinations.

How to care for advanced liver cancer

1. Basic nursing

Patients with advanced liver cancer have low immunity and poor physical condition in the dying stage. They are prone to pressure sores and other diseases if they stay in bed for a long time. Therefore, basic nursing should be strengthened. Basic nursing emphasizes creating a clean, quiet and comfortable recuperation environment; taking good care of bedsores to prevent the occurrence of bedsores and reduce the chance of infection; when selecting intravenous infusion or nutrition, the vein should be selected from far to near, from thin to thick, and from difficult to easy, to prevent the patient from being unable to receive intravenous infusion due to body consumption in the later stage.

2. Diet care

Pay attention to the color, aroma and taste of food to promote the patient's appetite. Give non-irritating and easily digestible food at an appropriate temperature. Eat slowly. You can eat some Chinese medicine porridge, such as Astragalus porridge, red date porridge, Codonopsis pilosula, etc., which can nourish the spleen and replenish qi. Do not lie flat for half an hour after a meal. Avoid eating greasy or fried food. Antiemetics can be given to those who vomit, and total intravenous nutritional support can be given when necessary. When blood ammonia is high, protein should be limited or fasted. The heat source is mainly carbohydrates, and fruits and vegetables can be selected.

3. Psychological care

Patients with advanced liver cancer generally have anxiety, tension, fear, pessimism, and despair. Doctors and family members should stabilize the patient's emotions and patiently explain the situation. At the same time, we should understand the patient and adopt different methods to comfort and persuade the patient according to the patient's acceptance. Patiently explain to the patient the significance, methods, ways and precautions of various treatments, and communicate with the patient more. The role of family members is more important. Patients with advanced liver cancer generally hope to receive the care, love and attention of their family members. Therefore, family members should communicate with the patient more, care, encourage and comfort the patient.