Is it necessary to fast for teratoma examination

Teratoma is a very harmful disease. The incidence of the disease has gradually increased in recent years, but many patients are still not very familiar with the disease and are not clear about the common knowledge about teratoma. Below we will give you a brief introduction to the question of whether fasting is required for teratoma examination.

Is it necessary to fast for teratoma examination? Generally, fasting is not necessary. Most teratomas are exophytic or have obvious palpable masses, and early diagnosis can often be made based on clinical manifestations. A careful abdominal physical examination and rectal digital examination with pulmonary teratoma angiography are very necessary for the examination of abdominal, pelvic, and occult sacrococcygeal teratomas; X-ray films of the tumor site can reveal abnormal calcifications of bones, teeth, etc. in the tumor to confirm the teratoma, and most of them are mature teratomas; gastrointestinal barium meals, barium enema, and intravenous pyelography can understand the compression and displacement of the gastrointestinal tract or organs such as the kidneys, ureters, and bladder in the corresponding parts. CT and MRI examinations should be performed on teratomas that grow rapidly and have a wide range of infiltration to clarify the range of tumor infiltration and its adjacent relationship with important blood vessels and spinal nerves.

For those who are considered to have malignant teratoma, the levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in the patient's serum should be tested, which can guide the diagnosis and prognosis. 92% of malignant teratomas have elevated alpha-fetoprotein, while 4% of benign teratomas also have abnormal AFP. It is found that the postoperative recurrence rate of benign teratomas with elevated AFP is significantly increased. The spinal X-ray shows a large range or obvious widening of the vertebral cavity, narrow pedicles at the site of the lesion, widened pedicle spacing, concave posterior edge of the vertebral body, and in some cases, spina bifida.

CT and MRI have obvious advantages in diagnosing teratomas, and both can better show the heterogeneity of tumors. On MRI images, teratomas appear as mixed signals, often with intact cyst walls, rich in fat signals, with or without intratumoral enhancement nodules, and usually, in addition to the tumor, are often accompanied by spina bifida or vertebral dysplasia.