What tests should be done if lung cancer is suspected? 6 tests that must be done to screen for lung cancer

1. Chest X-ray can be used as a routine method for physical examination and screening.

2. CT can detect lesions with a diameter ≥ 3 mm, and plays an irreplaceable role in lung diagnosis and screening, helping to stage lung cancer and determine the efficacy of treatment.

3. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is mainly used to evaluate and detect the presence of brain metastases and bone metastases, but is not as effective as CT in diagnosing primary lung lesions.

4. Nuclear medicine tomography (ECT) is used to screen for bone metastasis and its extent.

5. Color ultrasound is used to evaluate whether metastasis has occurred to abdominal organs, lymph nodes, etc., and is also used to quantify and locate pleural effusion.

6. PET-CT is a highly sensitive, accurate, non-invasive examination method. It is currently the world's most advanced medical imaging diagnostic equipment and can be called "the crown of modern medical high technology". The unique role of PET is based on metabolic imaging and quantitative analysis, using short-lived radionuclides that make up the main elements of the human body as tracers. It can not only quickly obtain multi-faceted tomographic images, three-dimensional quantitative results, and three-dimensional whole-body scans, but also dynamically observe the physiological and biochemical changes of metabolites or drugs in the human body at the molecular level, which can be used to study human physiology, biochemistry, chemical transmitters, receptors and even genetic changes.

The cost of PET-CT examination is not cheap, so in what cases should we consider PET-CT examination?

1. In the early stage of the tumor, when conventional examinations alone cannot distinguish between benign and malignant tumors: One of the important characteristics of tumor tissue is rapid growth and vigorous metabolism, especially increased glucose fermentation rate. Therefore, PET-CT is one of the most sensitive methods for early diagnosis of malignant tumors. For solid space-occupying lesions, if PET shows obvious active metabolism, it indicates a malignant lesion. If there is no increased metabolism, it indicates a high possibility of benign lesions.

2. Need to determine the stage and grade of lung cancer: PET-CT can perform whole-body tomography at one time. In addition to detecting lesions at the primary site, it can also detect whether there are metastatic lesions in soft tissue organs and bones in various parts of the body, which is very helpful for the staging of lung cancer and assists clinicians in formulating the best treatment plan.

3. When it is necessary to evaluate the treatment effect: Many treatments for tumors, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, require judgment on whether the lesions are necrotic. PET-CT can provide information on tumor activity to help doctors decide on the next treatment plan.

4. Searching for the primary tumor lesion: Some tumors present with lung metastasis as the first manifestation. The primary lesion is small and hidden. Rapid whole-body PET-CT scan can be used to find the primary lesion for secondary lung cancer of unknown cause.