Is it necessary to draw blood for teratoma detection

Is it necessary to draw blood for teratoma detection? Teratomas mainly occur in midline areas such as the suprasellar region and pineal region. Their imaging characteristics are distinctive and can make a preliminary diagnosis. It is difficult to distinguish between teratomas and malignant teratomas on plain CT scans, but the latter has relatively less cystic components, calcification, and fat, and more solid parts. Benign teratomas have often grown for many years, and the tumors are usually larger when discovered. Those in the pineal region almost all have varying degrees of supratentorial ventricular enlargement.

(1) Lumbar puncture pressure measurement shows varying degrees of increased pressure in the vast majority of patients, and the cerebrospinal fluid protein content is generally not high.

(2) Most cranial X-rays show signs of increased intracranial pressure. If teeth, small bone fragments, or calcifications are found, this will be more helpful for qualitative diagnosis.

(3) CT scan CT scan shows irregular tumors, nodules, obvious lobes and uneven density. Usually there are solid components (high density), cysts (low density) and calcification and ossification. Multicystic is more common. Fat components can be seen in all patients, and intratumoral bleeding is rare. In a few cases, oily fluid can be seen in the ventricles that moves with changes in body position (caused by teratoma rupture into the ventricles). After injection, the solid part is significantly enhanced, the density is extremely uneven, and the cyst wall enhancement may present multiple ring-shaped shadows.

(4) The signals of T1 and T2 images in MRI examination are extremely mixed, but the boundaries are clear, nodular or lobed. There is no edema at the border of benign teratoma (T2 image shows clear high signal). If there is peripheral edema, it indicates that the tumor is a malignant component or a malignant teratoma. The tumor wall and solid part are significantly enhanced after injection.

Is it necessary to draw blood for teratoma detection? The examination of teratoma mainly relies on B-ultrasound, CT, MRI and other imaging findings. Blood drawing is also necessary. For example, looking at the level of tumor markers can indirectly reflect the benign or malignant degree of the teratoma. In addition, blood must be drawn before teratoma surgery to complete liver and kidney function, coagulation function, blood type and other tests. Blood drawing is required. The tumor marker CEA may be slightly or moderately elevated. AFP is significantly elevated in patients with immature teratomas and mixed GCTs containing this component. Through the above introduction, we can answer this question very well. If you need any help, you can consult us.