oncologic diseases Flashcards
what is metastasis
tumour cells exit their primary site of growth, translocate systemically, and adapt to survive and thrive in the foreign microenvironments of distant tissues
top 3 causes of death in singapore
- cancer
- ischemic heart disease
- pneumonia
why is imaging important in oncologic diseases?
- prevention
- screening for cancer
- diagnosis and staging
- guiding cancer treatment
- assess treatment response
- monitoring
why screen for cancer
- early detection = better chance of treating it effectively
- usually recommended for people who are at increased risk
how does imaging guide in cancer treatment
- determine exact tumour location so that therapy procedures can be focused on the tumour, minimizing damage to the surrounding tissue
how does imaging assess response of treatment
- x-rays, mri, ct done at intervals to see if treatment is working and tumour is shrinking
- PET & other molecular imaging and nuclear med techniques used to monitor the way tumour uses body resources
- MR spectroscopy used to study chemical changes in the tumour
how does imaging help in monitoring
used to check for relapse or metastases of cancer
when is screening imaging done
early stage - before symptoms appear
breast density in relation to age
density decreases and involution of breast tissue increases with age
BIRAD 0
need additional imaging or prior examinations
BIRAD 1
negative findings
routine screening
0% cancer
BIRAD 2
benign tumour
routine screening
0% cancer
BIRAD 3
probably benign tumour
short interval follow up (6months) or continued
0-2% chance of cancer
BIRAD 4
suspicious lesion
tissue diagnosis
4a = low sus for malignancy (2-10% cancerous)
4b = moderate sus for malignancy (10-50%)
4c = high sus (50-95%)
BIRAD 5
highly suggestive of malignancy
tissue diagnosis
> 95% cancerous
