[Special Notice] Professor Yang Nong will hold outpatient consultations at Hainan Cancer Hospital on November 18th and 25th.
Question 1: What tests are needed to diagnose lung cancer? What is the gold standard for lung cancer diagnosis?
Mr. Lis father, who is in his 60s, has been diagnosed with lung unfortunately. During the process of diagnosing lung cancer, he was often informed that various tests are needed. Mr. Li is very confused about why there is so many tests.
Professor Yang Nong: The diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer are relatively complex.
Firstly, there is a distinction between benign and malignant tumors in the lungs. Especially for some difficult and complex tumors, it is difficult to determine only through imaging techniques.
Secondly, the various tests conducted in the early stages serve as a scientific basis for subsequent treatments, which is extremely necessary.
There are sorts of methods for lung cancer diagnose. We can diagnose lung cancer through symptoms, physical signs, imaging studies such as CT scan, MRI, PET-CT, and so on. Indeed, among all these methods, the gold standard for diagnosing lung cancer is pathological diagnosis. It means that it is crucial to obtain a sample of the tumor tissue for pathological examination in order to confirm whether it is a cancer.
And we needs to classify whether it is an adenocarcinoma, a squamous carcinoma, a small cell carcinoma, or a large cell carcinoma. Then were going to proceed a molecular pathological diagnosis, to see which particular driver mutation it carries, or which particular protein stains are positive, to decide what to do with subsequent treatment.
Question 2: Will it take a long time to do the examination, and will the condition turns worse due to time lasting?
Professor Yang Nong: In most cases, lung cancer development is relatively slow, when we find symptoms, in fact these tumors have been around for months, a year or two, or even longer. The multiplication of tumor cells takes a certain amount of time, usually one or two hundred days, so in the vast majority of cases, examination lasting one to two weeks will not delay the condition.
So, what about patients whose tumors grow more rapidly? This determination is made by doctors through a comprehensive evaluation of imaging studies and symptoms to assess the growth of the tumor and whether it is invading vital organs.
For some patients with small cell lung cancer, the condition develops very rapidly, it oppresses some important organs, causing symptoms turning worsen due to rapid growth, which could be pre-judged by doctors, and they will find ways to optimize the entire diagnosis process.
Question 3: Is there any risk of tumor diffusion of lung puncture?
Professor Yang Nong: Usually we refer metastasis caused by puncture as augmented metastasis, but its probability is very low. We diagnose approximately 4,000 new cases of lung cancer each year, but it is very rare to come across a patient who developed augmented metastasis caused by result of lung biopsy. And, now the puncture device we adopt is called the "sleeve needle." When biopsy tissue is taken, it is done in the syringe of the sleeve needle, greatly avoiding and reducing the risk of augmented metastasis leaded by multiple inserting.
Question 4: What should be done if a biopsy fails to obtain a specimen?
If it is not possible to obtain a biopsy specimen through methods such as bronchoscopy, lung puncture, mass biopsy, pleural fluid aspiration, or lymph node excision, we can still obtain a biopsy specimen through minimally invasive surgical procedures, such as thoracoscopy or mediastinoscopy. Therefore, as long as we actively seek solutions, it can be said that it is rare to be unable to obtain a biopsy specimen.
Appointment register
Register procedure:
Click on the small program - Outpatient registration - Add (select) patient information - Pay registration fee - Complete appointment.
Consultation requirements
To facilitate your medical treatment and enable the experts to quickly understand your condition, please bring:
1. Identity card, medical insurance card, mobile phone
2. Accompanied by immediate family (with decision-making authority)
3. Arrange the relevant examinations you have undergone in chronological order
4. Paper medical records from previous treatments
5. Surgical case slides, paraffin blocks, or 20-30 white slides
6. Pathology diagnosis report
7. Inpatient medical records and other records
8. Recent relevant examinations
9. Current treatment plan for the patient
10. A few urgent questions in consultation
[Tips]
Professor Yang Nong will hold regular clinics in the 6th Consultation Area, 2nd floor of the outpatient building of Hainan Cancer Hospital. If you have any disease-related problems, you can call or scan the code to add WeChat, and Professor Yang Nongs medical team will answer your professional medical questions:
(1) Advisory telephone: 138 7680 7106
(2) Add WeChat:
(Scan the code to add Chengmei doctors little assistant)