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Greater insight into the causes and mechanisms of cancer has led to better ways to diagnose and treat the many forms of this disease. First of all, advances in detection have improved the ability to discover cancers earlier and to diagnose them more accurately than was the case only a few years ago. (Indeed, some tests can identify precancerous tumours before symptoms appear and thus can be used to prevent cancers from developing.) In addition, improvements in conventional cancer treatments can cure many cases of cancer, and new therapeutic strategies show promise of being even more effective in thwarting the disease. This section reviews both conventional and innovative methods of diagnosing and treating cancer.
Diagnostic procedures
The diagnosis of cancer typically begins with the detection of symptoms that may be related to the disease. Symptoms associated with cancer vary, but common examples include unusual bleeding, persistent cough, changes in bowel or bladder habits, a persistent lump, a sore that does not heal, indigestion or trouble swallowing, and a change in the appearance of a mole or wart.
The physician evaluating a person with any of those symptoms develops a diagnostic workup to determine whether a tumour is present and, if so, whether the growth is benign or malignant. The diagnostic methods employed depend on the type and location of the suspected tumour.
The standard diagnostic workup begins with a detailed clinical history of the person. A complete physical examination, including laboratory tests such as a complete blood count and a urinalysis, is made. Diagnostic imaging using X-rays, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) scans, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be essential, and radioisotopes can be used to visualize certain organs or regions of the body. If necessary, the physician can use an endoscope to inspect the internal cavities and hollow viscera. An endoscope is a flexible optical instrument that makes it possible not only to observe the appearance of the internal linings but also to perform a biopsy, a procedure used to procure a tissue sample from a lesion for evaluation.
Biopsy
Biopsies, the most-definitive diagnostic tests for cancer, can be performed in the physician’s office or in the operating room. There are different techniques. In excisional biopsy the entire tumour is removed. This procedure is carried out when the mass is small enough to be removed completely without adverse consequences. Incisional biopsies, which remove only a piece of a tumour, are done if the mass is large. Biopsies obtained with visual control of an endoscope consist of small fragments of tissue, usually no larger than 5 millimetres (0.2 inch) long. Needle biopsy involves the removal of a core of tissue from a tumour mass with a specially designed needle often under imaging guidance. Alternatively, the needle can be stereotactically guided to a previously localized lesion. This type of biopsy yields a tissue core or cylinder and is frequently used for the diagnosis of breast masses and biopsies of brain lesions.
Another type of biopsy, called fine-needle aspiration biopsy, yields cells rather than a tissue sample, so the pathologist is able to assess only cellular features and not the architectural characteristics of the tissue suspected of harbouring a tumour. Nevertheless, fine-needle aspiration has many positive qualities. It is relatively painless and free of complications. In many instances it is a worthwhile adjunct to the diagnosis. Unlike a tissue sample, which may take two days to process and examine, a sample obtained by fine-needle aspiration can be examined and interpreted within a day or even in a matter of hours.
When it is necessary to identify the nature of a mass during a surgical operation, a biopsy can be performed and the tissue sample frozen for microscopic examination. Following this quick method, samples of tissue are frozen and then sliced into thin sections that are stained and examined under the microscope. Frozen sections are also used to assess whether the tumour has been completely excised. This is done by examining tissue samples taken from areas adjacent to the tumour to confirm that all diseased cells have been removed. In general, the rate of diagnostic accuracy of frozen sections is 95 to 97 percent, which is sufficient to guide decisions during surgical procedures.
Biopsy interpretation is a highly accurate technique that is supplemented with special methods of examination. Tissue sections can be viewed with an electron microscope, or they can be stained, using an immunohistochemical approach that uses antibodies directed against tumour-associated antigens or other cell proteins. Molecular biological techniques can be employed to detect mutations in proto-oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes, and cytogenetic tests can be performed on tissue samples to analyze the chromosome content of the cells.