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Cancer Imaging

CAT Scan

http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/tomography/projections.html

 

http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/learning/science-explained-imaging/page2

Uses of Imaging

 

Imaging is not a treatment but can help doctors make better decisions about treatments. The same imaging technique can help doctors find cancer, tell how far a cancer has spread, guide treatments, or find out if a treatment is working. Here is some information about the individual uses of imaging.

Screening for cancer— Imaging can be used to check to see if a person has any suspicious areas or abnormalities that might be cancerous. Mammograms are an example of a familiar imaging tool used to screen for breast cancer. Screening for cancer is usually recommended for people who are at increased risk (due to their family history, lifestyle, or age) for developing a particular type of cancer, rather than for everyone all the time.

Diagnosis/staging— Imaging can be used to find out where cancer is located in the body, if it has spread, and how much is present. Used in this way, imaging can help determine what stage (how advanced) the cancer is, and if the cancer is in, around, or near important organs and blood vessels. If a biopsy (taking small amount of the tumor for laboratory examination) is necessary, imaging can be used to help guide doctors to the tumor and take a sample of it.

Guiding cancer treatments— Imaging can be used to make cancer treatments less invasive by letting doctors focus treatments on the tumors. For instance, ultrasound, MRI, or CT scans can be used to pinpoint exact tumor locations so that laser therapy can be focused on the tumor and less surrounding tissue is damaged.

Determining if a treatment is working— Imaging can be used to see if a tumor is shrinking or if the tumor has changed and is using less of the body's resources than before treatment. For example, in some current cancer treatment trials, X-rays and CT scans are done at regular intervals to see if the treatment is working and the tumor is shrinking. PET and other nuclear medicine techniques are used to monitor the ways the tumor uses the body's resources. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy is used to study chemical changes in the tumor.

Monitoring for cancer recurrence— Imaging can be used to check and see if a previously treated cancer is coming back or if the cancer is spreading to other locations.

 

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