What tests should be done to confirm lung cancer? Five tests focus on screening the risk of lung cancer

There are many methods that can be used to diagnose lung cancer, which can be roughly divided into two categories: imaging examination and pathological examination. Among them, pathological examination is the gold standard for diagnosing lung cancer. So what examinations are used to confirm lung cancer?

1. Cytology examination: Most patients with primary lung cancer can find detached cancer cells in their sputum, and the histological type of the cancer cells can be determined. Therefore, sputum cytology examination is a simple and effective method for lung cancer screening and diagnosis. The positive rate of sputum cytology examination for central lung cancer can reach 70-90%, while the positive rate of sputum examination for peripheral lung cancer is only about 50%. Therefore, a negative sputum cytology examination cannot rule out the possibility of lung cancer.

2. Bronchoscopy: Bronchoscopy is an important measure for diagnosing lung cancer. Through bronchoscope, the pathological changes of the bronchial lining and lumen can be directly observed. If cancer or cancerous infiltration is observed, tissue can be taken for pathological section examination, or bronchial secretions can be aspirated for cytological examination to confirm the diagnosis and determine the histological type.

3. Percutaneous lung puncture biopsy: This type of lung cancer examination can be performed under the guidance of B-ultrasound or CT, using a puncture needle for percutaneous lung puncture biopsy, with a positive rate of over 80%.

4. Thoracoscopic examination: Thoracoscopic examination can accurately diagnose and stage lung cancer. For early lung cancer that cannot obtain pathological specimens through fiberoptic bronchoscopy and transthoracic lung tumor puncture needle aspiration biopsy, especially for small lung nodular lesions, thoracoscopy can be used to perform lesion resection, which can confirm the diagnosis. In addition, experts from the Hebei Lung Cancer Prevention and Treatment Research Center said: For mid- and late-stage lung cancer, thoracoscopy can be used to perform lymph node, pleural and pericardial biopsy, and cytological examination of pleural effusion and pericardial effusion, providing a reliable basis for formulating a comprehensive treatment plan.

5. Thoracotomy: If the nature of the lung mass cannot be determined after multiple examinations and short-term exploratory treatments, and the possibility of lung cancer cannot be ruled out, thoracotomy should be performed if the patient's general condition permits. During the operation, appropriate treatment will be given according to the condition of the lesion and the results of pathological tissue examination. This can avoid delaying the disease and causing lung cancer cases to lose the opportunity for early treatment.