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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