What are the 4 methods for diagnosing central lung cancer?

Central lung cancer is the most common type of lung cancer. It is a primary cancer that often occurs near the hilum of the lung, but usually originates from the bronchial mucosal epithelium or glands. The early symptoms of this disease are not specific and can be easily confused with bronchitis, colds, pharyngitis and other diseases. Therefore, if you want to diagnose it, you need to undergo surgical examination, imaging examination, pathological examination and some special examinations.

Central lung cancer can be divided into several types according to pathological characteristics, including squamous cell lung cancer, adenocarcinoma, and small cell lung cancer. The main factors leading to the disease include smoking, air pollution, and exposure to carcinogenic factors such as asbestos and asphalt, and it is also related to genetics. The early symptoms of this disease are relatively hidden, and it is usually discovered in the middle and late stages. Therefore, early detection is an important factor in obtaining good treatment results. The following examinations can help diagnose the disease.

1. Surgical examination

First, the doctor will examine the patient's chest to determine whether the patient has localized moist rales and wheezing to determine whether there are signs of illness. The second is a physical examination. Because central lung cancer is diffuse, if there are clubbing fingers and joint tenderness, or signs of superior vena cava obstruction, there is a greater possibility of illness.

2. Imaging examination

The first choice for checking central lung cancer is X-ray examination. If there is a round shadow in one or both lung hilums with unclear edges and lobes in the image, it can generally be determined to be diseased. Chest CT or enhanced CT examination also plays a certain role in the determination and staging of the disease.

3. Pathological examination

There are currently three types of pathological examinations: sputum exfoliated cell examination, pleural effusion cell examination, and needle biopsy. The first two methods determine whether the disease exists by examining the sputum or pleural effusion for cancer cells. Needle biopsy, on the other hand, determines whether the cancer has spread and metastasized by biopsy of the pleura and superficial lymph nodes.

4. Special inspection

This type of examination includes two methods: tracheofibroscopy and mediastinoscopy. The former is to examine the tumor and its organ tissues through tracheofibroscopy to determine the disease condition. It is known as the gold standard for examining central lung cancer. At the same time, this method can also provide some help in the selection of surgical options. The latter is mainly used for tumor staging assessment.

The above methods can help diagnose central lung cancer. In order to make the judgment more accurate, they are usually used together in clinical practice. In terms of treatment, central lung cancer mainly has several main methods such as drug therapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgical treatment, immunotherapy, etc. Its prognosis depends on the stage of cancer. In principle, the earlier the treatment, the better the recovery effect.