By Antin. Patient’s personal and family medical history are important things to diagnose bone cancer. The doctor also performs a physical examination and may order laboratory and other diagnostic tests.

Imaging tests. Tests such as X-rays, computerized tomography (CT) scans, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enable your doctor to evaluate the area of concern.

· X-rays can show the location, size, and shape of a bone tumor. If x-rays suggest that an abnormal area may be cancer, the doctor is likely to recommend special imaging tests.

· A computed tomography (CT or CAT) scan is a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body, taken from different angles that are created by a computer linked to an x-ray machine.

· A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure uses a powerful magnet linked to a computer to create detailed pictures of areas inside the body without using x-rays.

Bone scan. Your doctor may also request a bone scan, a procedure in which you’re injected with a tiny amount of radioactive material or radioactive glucose (sugar), called a tracer, which can be detected by a scanner used to create images of your bones.

Biopsy removal of a tissue sample from the bone tumor to determine whether cancer is present.

  • Needle biopsy. Your doctor uses a thin needle to remove small pieces of tissue from the tumor. There are two types of needle biopsy — fine-needle aspiration and core biopsy. A core biopsy involves using a slightly larger needle to remove a small, solid core of tissue.
  • Surgical biopsy. Your doctor makes an incision through your skin and removes either the entire tumor (excisional biopsy) or a portion of the tumor (incisional biopsy). In some cases you may need only local anaesthesia. For a larger or deep-seated tumor, you’ll likely require general anaesthesia for the procedure. It’s important that a doctor experienced in the treatment of sarcomas perform the excisional biopsy.

Blood tests. A large amount of alkaline phosphatase enzyme is present in the blood when the cells that form bone tissue are very active—when children are growing, when a broken bone is mending, or when a disease or tumor causes production of abnormal bone tissue. Because high levels of this enzyme are normal in growing children and adolescents, this test is not a completely reliable indicator of bone cancer.

As I was writing the above article, it struck me that you may be interested in reading this too: Categories of Cancer.


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