figure 1: Commonly diagnosed cancers. It shows estimated cases and deaths due to these cancers |
Cancer came from word "carcinoma". Cancer is not a single disease it is a generalised/ generic term used for multiple disease types. To simplify.. each organ in human body is made of a group cells with unique morphology and functional characteristics. As per nature each cell has definite life span. They are supposed to die after sometime. However, some of these group of cells has tendency to break the law of nature, go rogue and continue to multiply uncontrollably. This leads to formation of tumor like structures protruding out from the organs which we call cancer for e.g. Brain tumor, pancreatic tumor, breast tumor/ cancer, head and neck tumors and others.
Please note that all cancers can be tumours but vice versa is not true.
There are certain type of cancers where we don't see tumor formation for example Leukemia (blood cancer), stomach ulcers, skin cancer and others. It is important to note that each cancer type has its unique symptoms. Most common types of cancer, incidence rate and their death toll in America are discussed in detail by National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Most commonly seen basic symptoms that can be linked to cancer a
- Unexplained weight loss of 10 pounds or more
- Fever due to unknown reason.
- Fatigue
- Severe chronic episodes of pain that does not go away.
We do not have single cure for cancer. But we do have relatively good therapies for it, which may or may not give favourable treatment. There are obvious reports which says that the same cancer from two different patients may behave differently to the same therapeutic regime. This mainly happens due to complex evolutionary advantage to cancer cells.
Commonly used diagnostic methods prescribed by American cancer society is given below. You can get more details on each tests by clicking on each cancer type.
Cancer Type | Tissue Biopsy | Blood Tests | Biomarker and Gene mutation Tests | Urine Test | Imaging Tests | Other Tests |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bladder Cancer | Yes | Yes | NMP22 and BTA test | Urine cytology | Intraveous Pyelogram | |
Immunocyt test | Urine culture | Retrograde Pyelogram | ||||
UroVysion test | Urine marker tests | Computed Tomography (CT) Scan | ||||
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Scan | ||||||
Ultrasound | ||||||
Breast Cancer | Core needle biopsy | NA | NA | NA | Mammograms | Nipple discharge examination |
Fine needle aspiration (FNA) | Ultrasound | Ductal lavage and nipple aspiration | ||||
Surgical biopsy | MRI | Lymph node biopsy | ||||
Lymph node biopsy | ||||||
Colon and Rectal Cancer | Yes | Yes | KRAS gene* | NA | Colonoscopy | Liver enzyme tests** |
BRAF gene* | MRI | microsatellite instability (MSI) testing | ||||
blood markers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA 19-9 | CT Scan | |||||
Ultrasound | ||||||
Positron Emission Ttomography (PET) Scan** | ||||||
Angiography** | ||||||
Chest X-ray** | ||||||
Endometrial Cancer | Yes | Yes | CA 125 levels in blood | NA | Pelvic and transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) | Dilation and curettage (D&C) |
Hysteroscopy | ||||||
CT Scan | ||||||
MRI | ||||||
PET | ||||||
Cytoscopy and proctoscopy | ||||||
Kidney Cancer | Fine Needle Aspiration and Core Needle Biopsy | Yes (check for polycythemia) | NA | Cyto analysis of urine sample | CT Scan | Biochemical tests |
Fuhrman grade | MRI | |||||
Ultrasound | ||||||
PET Scan | ||||||
Intravenous Pyelogram | ||||||
Chest X-ray** | ||||||
Bone Scan** | ||||||
Leukemia | Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy | Yes | NA | NA | microscopic examinationination | Biochemistry and coagulation tests |
Lymph node biopsy | X-ray | cytochemistry | ||||
Lumber puncture (spinal tap) | CT Scan | flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry | ||||
MRI | PCR | |||||
Ultrasound | ||||||
Gallium Scan and bone Scan** | ||||||
Lung Cancer | Needle biopsy | Yes | EGFR test | NA | X-ray | Sputum cytology |
KRAS gene* | CT Scan | Thoracentesis | ||||
ALK gene* | MRI | Immuno histochemistry (IHC) | ||||
ROS1 gene* | Ultrasound | pulmonary function test | ||||
RET gene* | PET Scan | |||||
Bronchosopy | ||||||
Bone Scan** | ||||||
Melanoma | Skin | Yes | BRAF gene* | NA | X-ray | IHC |
Shave | CT Scan | fluoroscence insitu hybridization (FISH) | ||||
Punch | MRI | comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) | ||||
Incisional and excisional biopsy | PET Scan | |||||
Final needle aspiration (FNA) | ||||||
Surgical lymph node | ||||||
Sentinel lymph node | ||||||
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma | Incisional and excisional biopsy | Yes | NA | NA | X-ray | flow cytometry |
FNA | CT Scan | cytogenetics | ||||
Bone marrow aspiration | MRI | FISH | ||||
Lumber puncture | Ultrasound | PCR | ||||
Pleural or peritoneal fluid | PET Scan | |||||
Gallium Scan | ||||||
Bone Scan | ||||||
Pancreatic Cancer | Percutaneous biopsy | Yes | CA 19-9 | NA | CT Scan | Liver function test |
Endoscopy | CEA | MRI | ||||
surgical biopsy | gastrin measurements | abdominal ultrasound | ||||
glucagon measurements | endoscopic ultrasound | |||||
somatostatin measurements | Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography | |||||
pancreatic polypeptide | Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography | |||||
vasoactive intestinal peptide | Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography | |||||
OctreoScan, | ||||||
PET Scan | ||||||
Angiography** | ||||||
Prostate Cancer | Prostate Biopsy | Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) | NA | NA | Transrectal ultrasound | |
Grading prostate | Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia | Bone Scan | ||||
Lymph Node Biopsy | Atypical small acinar proliferation | CT Scan | ||||
Laparoscopic biopsy | Proliferative inflammatory atrophy | MRI | ||||
FNA | ProstaScintTM Scan | |||||
Thyroid Cancer | Thyroid gland biopsy | Yes | Thyroid function test | NA | Ultrasound | Vocal chord examinationination |
T3 and T4 hormone level | Radioiodine Scan | |||||
Thyroglobulin | X-ray | |||||
Calcitonin | MRI | |||||
Carcinoembryonic antigen | PET Scan |
We have discussed more information on how ageing and its correlation with cancer. We are constantly working towards finding new ways of fighting these cancer types. Newest way is by personalised medicine. Pathway pharmaceuticals provides newer ways of diagnosis of cancer conditions please check here.
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