Lung cancer is a common cancer. And one of the most dangerous, because it often passes with serious complications, leads to death. We traditionally believe that fluorography, which is carried out as part of annual medical examinations, will help to suspect the signs of this pathology. But at the same time, there are many alarming messages on the Web that a few months after fluorography, a lung cancer in an advanced stage was discovered in a person.
Is lung cancer visible on fluorography? In the article we will provide a complete answer to this question.
About the disease
It is not without reason that so many people are concerned about the question of whether lung cancer is visible on fluorography. This common cancer formation has poor prognosis. Great risk of death. Therefore, it is so important to determine this oncopathology at the initial stage. It is dangerous because it is almost asymptomatic. Signs of the disease often begin to manifest themselves only at the stage of tumor metastasis.
The disease occurs in both sexes. However, men more often suffer from it. There are a number of factors that trigger lung cancer:
- Smoking.
- Alcohol abuse.
- Drug addiction.
- Adverse environmental conditions.
- Work in an environment with potential carcinogens.
- Genetic predisposition.
- Eating carcinogenic foods.
- Radiation exposure.
By localization, lung cancer is divided into central, peripheral and massive. The latter is quite rare. And the most common central.
Is lung cancer visible on fluorography? This procedure is not included in oncology diagnostics. The latter is as follows:
- Examination of the patient.
- Collection of medical history and his complaints.
- Laboratory tests of the patient’s blood.
- Instrumental diagnostics. In particular, an X-ray of the lungs.
Dangerous signs
Will fluorography show early lung cancer? As we will see later, not always. But the life of the patient sometimes depends on the slightest delay.
The insidiousness of oncological diseases of the lungs is that even their first symptoms do not cause serious concern in a person. Therefore, so many people turn to specialists for help only with obvious signs of oncology.
The first alarming symptoms in this case are the following:
- Chronic causeless weakness, loss of strength.
- Cough of unknown origin.
- Dyspnea.
Is lung cancer visible on fluorography? Doctors advise for prophylactic diagnosis of this disease to still refer to an x-ray of the lungs.
Fluorography - what is it?
It is possible to detect lung cancer on fluorography. But, unfortunately, not in all cases. And especially in the early stages. So why is this technique common, included in the standard physical examination?
Fluorography is a quick and affordable way to examine your lungs. Literally every other day you can get the results. Using this technique, specialists can identify tumors and dysfunctions not only in the lungs, but also in other organs and systems: the heart, diaphragm, bone tissue, adjacent vessels, etc.
The method is also valued for being painless and harmless. The radiation dose that a person receives during the procedure is negligible. Therefore, there is nothing harmful in undergoing this preventive diagnosis every year.
What is visible on the fluorogram?
If the fluorogram is taken correctly, then an experienced specialist can detect the following from this picture:
- Pleural inflammation.
- Calcium deposition in the heart muscle.
- Expansion of the roots of the bronchi and lungs, as well as fibrous tissue.
- Reinforced vascular pattern.
- Focal shadow of oncological tumors.
Fluorography is appreciated because it can be used to notice pathological changes not only in the structure of the lungs, but also in all organs that are somehow involved in the respiratory process: heart, veins, arteries, etc.
When lung cancer is not visible on the fluorogram?
Does fluorography detect lung cancer? Yes, but, unfortunately, not in all cases. This is due to a serious drawback of the technique - the procedure is carried out only in direct projection. Therefore, there are a number of factors when fluorography fails to recognize a tumor in the lungs:
- The neoplasm is located in the basal segments of the lower right lobe of the organ. Since they are blocked by the liver, it is not possible for a specialist to consider a tumor.
- Too small oncological foci.
- The tumor is located too deep in the tissues of the organ.
Does fluorography show lung cancer in its early stages? Yes, but, as you have seen, not in all cases.
What does the tumor look like on the fluorogram?
What does lung cancer look like on fluorography? Of course, the tumor in the picture is difficult to recognize for a layman. A qualified doctor may suspect her of the following symptoms:
- The presence of seals. Most often it is one-sided, casting a shadow. Cords can adjoin it. It is noticeable that the roots of the lung will be somewhat expanded.
- The shadow cast by the seal is of various shapes. But most often it is spherical. As a rule, it has fuzzy edges, there may be some "radiance" around it.
Indirect signs
The tumor is not always visible in the picture while the cancer is already starting to develop. A qualified doctor is able to suspect this disease for a number of indirect signs:
- Hypoventilation (insufficient ventilation) of the lungs.
- Atelectasis of the pulmonary sites.
- Compensatory increase in the airiness of the departments adjacent to it.
- Distal rapprochement of blood vessels (it can occur due to compression of the tumor).
- Thickening of the walls of the bronchi.
X-ray and X-ray - is there a difference?
As we have seen, fluorography shows lung cancer, but not in all cases. A more accurate way of instrumental diagnosis of this pathology is x-ray.
An X-ray is taken faster than fluorography. Moreover, if you are diagnosed in a private medical clinic, the cost of an x-ray is lower.
Another plus of radiography: the radiation load on the patient here may be lower than with fluorography. By the way, the highest dose of radiation - with computed tomography. But the advantage of fluorography is high bandwidth. Due to the speed of obtaining the results of the procedure, it is also included in annual medical examinations.
The principle of obtaining an X-ray image is simple: a beam of rays emanates from the radiation tube of the device. Through the human body, respectively, they will pass to varying degrees. The result is displayed on film. Due to the properties of our organs, it is possible to pass X-rays through different ways, resulting in a picture resembling a photo: soft tissues are gray, air cavities are black, and bones are white.
Two other alternative methods of fluorography are magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. CT is a more accurate method, as the patient’s body is X-rayed from several angles. But it is much more expensive than fluorography and radiography. The radiation dose for CT is much more significant.
MRI is harmless, as this is the effect of magnetic fields. But the procedure, again, is distinguished by its high cost. In addition, there are a large number of contraindications to MRI.
Digital fluorography
In some medical Russian clinics, modern units have already been installed that allow digital fluorography. Using the latest technology, you can get not only a standard picture, but also examine the digital image of the lungs, which is displayed on the monitor.
The advantage of the new method is obvious. If with standard fluorography only the frontal image of organs was available, then with digital fluorography it is possible to view the lungs from all sides and angles. Which at times improves the quality of diagnosis. In addition, certain portions of the image that bothered the doctor can be enlarged, zoomed in.
Does fluorography show lung cancer when performed on such equipment? The answer will, of course, be positive. It is important to note that in the digital technique extremely sensitive sensors are involved. For the patient, this is good because the level of exposure to his body is reduced tenfold.
As for specialists, they also appreciate the new technique for the fact that you can move the lung image to an offline medium or print its paper options in the required quantity.
Alternative diagnostic methods
In addition to fluorography, there are a number of diagnostic procedures during which it is possible to detect lung cancer in the initial stages:
- Sputum cytology. The masses are examined, either secreted by coughing, or seized during bronchoscopy. Cytological analysis reveals atypical squamous fractions that are characteristic of oncological pathologies.
- Pleural puncture. Allows you to refute or confirm the presence of cancer cells.
- Thoracotomy. A surgical procedure, the purpose of which is to "pinch off" a tumor particle for further analysis on its benignity.
- Mediastinoscopy. Laboratory testing of a sample of either tumor or lymph tissue.
- Puncture biopsy. The material necessary for the study is collected using a syringe and a thin needle. The latter is introduced into the tumor site. The procedure is performed under local anesthesia. It is appreciated for the 100% accuracy of the research results.
- Positron emission tomography. During the procedure, tissue activity, metabolic productivity in the suspected area of the oncological neoplasm are evaluated. However, it should be borne in mind that the patient’s radiation dose is approximately two times greater than that obtained by fluorography.
To summarize. Familiar fluorography is an obsolete research method. But common because of its cheapness. The picture is fuzzy, from one angle. Why it is not always possible to recognize lung cancer in the first stage on it. An alternative is digital fluorography, X-ray, CT, MRI.