Various procedures play an important role in cancer diagnostics. These include imaging such as X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computer tomography (CT). The taking and laboratory examination of a tissue sample is also very important. Molecular biological and genetic diagnostic procedures have also become increasingly important in recent years.
In this article, you can find out which methods are available in cancer diagnostics and where you can find cancer diagnostics specialists.
Cancer is a malignant tumor disease. Genetic changes cause cells to grow uncontrollably into healthy tissue and damage it. If the resulting tumor (the primary tumor) reaches the bloodstream, the cancer cells can spread further. In this way, daughter tumors, so-called metastases, can develop in other organs.
If cancer is detected early and treated correctly, there is often a good chance of recovery. A precise diagnosis is therefore crucial. Only then can doctors correctly assess the spread of the disease and its exact nature. Ultimately, the treatment decision is based on this diagnosis.
The therapy also depends on the patient's age, condition and life situation, among other factors. This is referred to as personalized cancer medicine.
There are no general cancer diagnostics that can detect all types of cancer.
The statutory health insurance funds cover the costs of various screening tests. Cancer screening depends on age and gender. You should definitely take advantage of these examinations. Early detection of cancer significantly increases the chances of recovery.
Well-known examples include breast palpation and the Pap test, which are part of cancer screening for women. They are used for the early detection of breast cancer and cervical cancer. In men, the PSA test is used to rule out prostate cancer.
People with many moles have an increased risk of skin cancer. Preventive measures include the examination of conspicuous moles by a dermatologist using a reflected light microscope.
Later in life, bowel cancer screening is added. This includes the iFOBT stool test, which can detect occult blood in a stool sample. Blood in the stool is a possible sign of bowel cancer. Colonoscopy is also very important. This allows intestinal polyps to be detected and easily removed. Intestinal polyps are benign tumors in the intestine that can degenerate over time.
However, tumors are often only discovered when they are already causing symptoms. Cancer can also be discovered by chance during another examination.
If cancer is suspected, cancer diagnostics in the narrower sense begins. The aim is to find out
Doctors follow a diagnostic scheme when choosing diagnostic tools. This ensures that the most expensive method is not used to search for the tumor as soon as there is an initial suspicion.
The choice of diagnostic procedure also depends on the size and location of the cancerous tumor.
An initial finding or suspicion of cancer is often based on positive palpation findings or changes in blood parameters. Imaging procedures are often used for a more precise check. These primarily include X-rays and ultrasound (sonography). However, both are rather unspecific. They require - in addition to some practice on the part of the doctor in evaluating such images - a certain visible size of the lesions.
More precise and often more sensitive are the modern imaging procedures used in nuclear medicine, such as
These three methods of cancer diagnostics can produce much sharper and more detailed images.
Many tumors can be detected using MRI © Image Supply Co | AdobeStock
If there are indications of a mass in an organ, a biopsy is usually arranged. Such a tissue sample from the suspected tumor can be used to detect the cancer
further characterized. With the help of this data, the cancer is individually assessed in the laboratory and its stage of development ("staging") is recorded. The biopsy is therefore a very important part of cancer diagnostics.
As soon as the test results are available, the oncologists decide on promising treatment options in an interdisciplinary tumor board. Patients also have the opportunity to obtain a second opinion.
A tissue sample (biopsy) is used in cancer diagnostics to
The doctor will therefore probably request cancer diagnostics for the following findings:
It is not always possible to remove tissue from the tumor. Sometimes a hereditary component (germline) is suspected.
In such cases, cancer diagnostics make use of the relatively new "liquid bi opsy " procedure. Doctors try to isolate DNA or RNA fragments of the tumor from the blood using special molecular biological diagnostic chips, for example. By analyzing these, they can obtain a more precise picture of the type of tumor.
This information, like the findings from a tissue biopsy, is usually relevant to treatment.
Oncology (cancer medicine) is an area of medicine that intervenes in many specialist disciplines. For example, there is prostate cancer, which is looked after by uro-oncologists, or breast cancer, which belongs to gynecology.
Primary cancer diagnostics can usually be carried out as part of cancer screening
gynecologist or urologist. For more specific questions, they will refer you to the necessary specialists. Some of these specialists are practicing oncologists in their respective fields.
However, as the complexity of cancer diagnostics increases, patients must turn to oncology centers. These are often university hospitals or specialized tumor centers.
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