How often is the appropriate follow-up examination for liver cancer? 4 liver cancer examination items must be done

Liver cancer is one of the most serious tumor diseases, which poses a serious threat to human life and health. However, its treatment has always been a global problem. There are still some ways to treat early liver cancer, but in the middle and late stages of liver cancer, the treatment effect is not very optimistic. Therefore, early detection and timely treatment are particularly important. After many patients find out that they have liver cancer, in order to recover their health as soon as possible and avoid causing greater harm to their bodies, they will actively cooperate with doctors for treatment. However, some patients will always have recurring conditions after a period of time after recovery. This is because the patients do not go to regular hospitals for regular follow-up examinations. Let us understand the importance of follow-up examinations!

1. Follow-up examination is an important measure in the process of cancer treatment, especially for patients after chemotherapy. Many patients think that they are cured after chemotherapy and ignore follow-up examination, which is very dangerous. Generally, cancer patients should have a follow-up examination every 3 months within 2 years after completing treatment, and then every 6 months, and once a year after 5 years.

2. At present, the items of reexamination generally include: whether there is lymph node enlargement in the whole body, whether there is a local mass, three routine tests of blood, urine and stool, blood biochemistry, isotope, B-ultrasound, X-ray examination, and CT and MRI if necessary. Lungs, liver, brain, bones and adrenal glands are the parts where cancer cells are easy to metastasize, so special attention should be paid. The immune status of the patient's body, such as immunoglobulin, should also be checked. When reexamining, it is best for the patient to go to the original hospital for treatment, because there is the patient's treatment information there, which is conducive to making a correct judgment on the condition and timely treatment.

3. Whether after surgery or after radiotherapy and chemotherapy, it is not the end of treatment for cancer patients. Because cancer is different from other diseases, it is a disease that is prone to recurrence. We cannot simply assume that the disappearance of clinical symptoms means recovery, nor can we assume that the body is recovered when the lesion disappears. Therefore, cancer patients should still be vigilant during the recovery period, pay attention to minor changes in the body, and properly adjust their lives to ensure the thoroughness of treatment.

Examination of patients with liver cancer

1. Alpha-fetoprotein determination:

This diagnostic method uses immunological methods to measure the production of embryonic antigens, and is currently one of the more effective methods for diagnosing this disease. If no other evidence of liver cancer is found, the positive result of Α-Fp countercurrent immunoelectrophoresis is greater than 500NG/ML and lasts for more than one month, active liver cancer and pregnancy are excluded, and gonadal embryonic tumors are excluded, liver cancer can be diagnosed.

2. CT examination:

This method has the characteristics of high resolution in diagnosing liver cancer, and can detect patients with early liver cancer with a diameter of about 1 cm. Enhanced scanning can help identify hemangiomas. The accuracy rate of diagnosing liver cancer is as high as 90%, but the cost is relatively high, so it is not widely used.

3. Blood enzyme examination:

The serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase level of patients with this disease is higher than that of normal people. The lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme and alkaline phosphatase are also higher than those of normal people. However, this diagnosis lacks specificity and is therefore only used as an auxiliary diagnosis.

4. Ultrasound examination:

Ultrasound examination is currently a better method for diagnosing this disease. Its advantage is that it can be tested without invasion. It can accurately show the size and shape of the tumor and the presence of tumor thrombus in the hepatic vein and portal vein, with a diagnosis rate of up to 84%. It can also detect lesions with a diameter of less than 2 cm.