Cancer is still ranked among the leading causes of death globally, while the use of different diagnostic tests especially at the early stages of the disease has boosted the chances of survival for the majority of cancer types.

Medical diagnostics have developed over time, and can identify a problem at an early stage that requires treatment, thus enhancing the chances of recovery as well as the person getting the best care needed.

In case you’re someone looking for various diagnostic tests that can detect cancer early, this blog is helpful for you. Do note that early detection can effectively help in the cure.

Through this blog post , Karetrip continues the series devoted to the diagnostics of cancer and discusses what diagnostic tests are, the most common types of them, and how they help in the analysis and treatment of cancer.

Understanding the Importance of Diagnostic Tests in Cancer Detection

1.Early Detection and Prevention

Screening has a central place in diagnosing cancer at a stage that is easily manageable. Evaluating the disease at a primary stage can be diagnosed early hence can be treated, and this is crucial in raising the survival rates. It is common knowledge that many forms of cancer are latent in their initial phases and therefore early detection relies on check-ups and tests.

2.Diagnostic Tests: What are They?

Screening tests and Diagnostic tests mean a number of procedures that can be done for identification of cancer cells or other signs that are suggestive of cancer. These methods include ones as simple as blood tests and imaging, while others may include tissue biopsy, molecular tests among others. For every kind of cancer, specific types of tests are employed to assess the disease as well as the stage it has reached.

3.Screening Tests Oncologic the Cancer Detection

Diagnostic tests are done on individuals who have no complaints, but have associated factors that put them at risk of developing cancer genetically, aged, habits or contact with carcinogens. For instance, mammography is common in diagnosing breast cancer while colonoscopy is used in diagnosing colon cancer. Screening involves testing for the disease before it shows symptoms and therefore improves the patients’ chances of plenty of time for treatment.

Types of Diagnostic Tests for Cancer

1. Imaging Tests

Diagnostic imaging is one of the most used techniques for diagnosing diseases and specifically cancer. These tests build images of what an inside of your body looks like, for instance, tumours or other irregularities.

• X-rays: a medical imaging technique in which electromagnetic radiation such as X-rays is passed through the body to produce images that reveal masses or growths that may be indicative of cancer such as lung cancer, X-ray mammography.

• CT Scans (Computed Tomography): Although CT scans are as radioactive as traditional X-rays, they allow greater detail of the image. This method is most applicable for identification of tumours in the skull, lungs, liver and other parts of the body.

• MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging): MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging and the procedure uses magnets and radio waves to produce images that are detailed. It is usually utilised in checking cancers of parts such as the brain, spinal cord, and any other soft tissue. Ultrasound: This test employs the use of sound waves with frequencies high enough to produce a display of the interior of the body. It is mostly applied in diagnosis of cancer diseases such as liver, pancreas or some reproductive organ cancers.

2.Blood Tests

Imaging procedures are described as invasive since they utilise equipment to examine the interior of the body while blood tests are non invasive since they make use of specific elements in blood known as tumour markers.

These substances are often produced by the cancer cells or the cellular structures which are affected in cancer or those structures which are responding to cancer or some physical or chemical change in the surroundings.

• Complete Blood Count (CBC): This test focuses on the different formations on the blood stream such as the red blood cell formation, the WBC formation and the formation of platelets. Changes within these counts may indicate cancer such as leukaemia.

• Tumour Markers: The biomarkers-for instance, PSA in prostate cancer or CA 125 in ovarian cancer will then identify proteins in a human body higher in people with the said type of cancer.

3.Biopsies

Biopsy can therefore be described as the most invasive diagnostic technique associated with cancer. This one represents razoring in which a small portion of tissue is removed for a microscopy sample. Histopathology is required in an effort to distinguish between a benign, or non malignant growth, and a malignant one.

4. Genetic Testing

Genetic testing helps detect mutations in genes that may increase an individual's risk of developing cancer. It can also identify mutations in cancerous tumours that can be targeted by specific therapies.

• BRCA Testing : Also, women who possess genes, tagged as BRCA1 or BRCA2, are at a higher risk of building both breast and ovarian cancer. Some of these genetic mutations can be detected early and this leads to more intense screening efforts or ways to prevent them from developing further.

• Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS): This is an advanced technology, which can detect many mutations within a tumour and use this information in optimising therapeutic treatment of cancer.

5.Liquid Biopsies

Liquid biopsy is the simplest procedure of testing the blood for cancer-associated biomarkers or ctDNA technique that is considered to be among the latest developments in the cancer diagnostics field. It is a non-invasive test that can be used for cancer detection, tumour characterization, and treatment response assessment.

The Diagnostic Process: Step-by-Step

1.Initial Screening

Many of the cancer diseases are discovered at an early stage through screening tests, for example mammography for management of breast cancer or PAP smear for cervical cancer. These tests are important especially when the cancer is still at an early stage so that it can easily be treated.

2.Diagnostic Testing After Screening

If any abnormalities are detected from a screening test, then diagnostic tests are employed to check if there is indeed cancer and if so, which type of cancer, how big it is and how far it has progressed.

3.Staging of cancer

The spread of cancer is known as staging while the extent of penetration of cancer to various organs is called grading.

Staging and grading work hand in hand with diagnosis to help the physicians have a clue on the extent of the spread of the cancer and its aggressiveness. Staging tests consist of CT scans, MRI or bone scans. On the other hand, grading is a measure of how malignant the cancer cells appear to be when viewed under the microscope.