Diagnosis and staging of lung cancer

Question 1

investigations of lung cancer cancer

Answer 1

CXR, CT, bronchoscopy, PET CT, EBUS

Question 2

staging process of lung cancer

Answer 2

history and examination, performance status, pulmonary function, TNM staging

Question 3

what is a pulmonary mass

Answer 3

an opacity in lung over 3cm with no mediastinal adenopathy or atelectasis

Question 4

what is a pulmonary nodule

Answer 4

an opacity in lung up to 3cm with no mediastinal adenopathy or atelectasis

Question 5

TNM staging stands for

Answer 5

T- how big and how far spread is the tumour,
N- whether cancer cells have spread into the lymph nodes,
M- whether there has been metastasis

Question 6

TNM staging stands for

Answer 6

T- how big and how far spread is the tumour, T1-4
N- whether cancer cells have spread into the lymph nodes, N0-3
M- whether there has been metastasis M0-1c

Question 7

PET CT

Answer 7

performs whole body staging in a single study excluding cerebral disease functional imaging using labelled glucose FDG, discloses metastases and other pathology not detected by other means