P站视频

What are these tests used for?

Imaging tests are often used to find cancer or learn more about it.

They might be used to:

• Find cancer in its early stages when it’s small and has not spread, before you have symptoms. These are called cancer screening tests.
• Look for a mass or lump (tumor) when you have symptoms.
• Help find out if symptoms are caused by cancer or another disease.
• Guide a needle into a tumor for a biopsy.
• Learn how much cancer is in your body and where it is located. This is called staging.

Imaging tests can also be used during and after treatment.

They might be used to:

• Plan treatment. For example, to show where radiation therapy beams need to be aimed.
• Guide a needle into a tumor for cancer treatment.
• Monitor your response during treatment by showing if a tumor has shrunk, stayed the same, or grown.
• Find out if cancer has come back (recurred) after treatment.

Many health care providers also order imaging tests before treatment starts.

These pictures are called baseline studies because they show how things looked at the start. They are used to track changes during treatment. They can be compared with later images to see the results of treatment over time.

Who does the tests?

An imaging test might be done in a hospital or doctor’s office. Or it might be done in a special clinic or imaging center. At larger medical centers, imaging tests are often done in the radiology department.

Several health care providers might be involved with the test:

Certified radiology technologist (tech): A tech usually does the exam. They will tell you what to expect and what instructions to follow. They will take the pictures and be with you for the entire scan. They might be called by their subspecialty, such as nuclear med tech or MRI tech. Or you might hear them called a rad tech.

Nurses and advanced practice providers: Some radiology departments will also have nurses, nurse practitioners (NPs), or physician associates (PAs). They might do certain procedures or give medicines during the imaging test.

Who reads the tests?

A radiologist reads (interprets) the imaging tests.

This is a doctor who specializes in imaging. They read the images made during the test and send a report to your health care team. Sometimes, the radiologist is also involved during the imaging test if a biopsy or special procedure is done at the same time.

 A copy of the radiology report will become part of your records. Oncologists, surgeons, or other health care providers might look at the images, too.

Which imaging tests do I need?

Your health care provider might recommend one or more imaging tests. The tests you need will depend on several factors, such as:

• The type of tumor and its location
• If a biopsy (tissue sample) is needed
• Your age, sex, and overall health
• The balance between any risks or side effects and the expected benefits
• Your preference
• Cost

Is there a risk of radiation from imaging tests?

Large doses of radiation can cause serious tissue damage and increase your risk of later developing cancer. Low doses of radiation from imaging tests might increase your cancer risk slightly. But it’s important to weigh these risks against the benefits of the test.

Learn more in Understanding Radiation Risk from Imaging Tests.

Limitations of imaging tests

Imaging tests are very helpful. But they have limits. Sometimes, these tests alone cannot show for sure if a change in your body is caused by cancer.

Imaging tests can find large groups of cancer cells, but no imaging test can show a single cancer cell or even a few cells. In fact, it takes millions of cells to make a tumor big enough to show up on an imaging test. This is why treatment sometimes continues even when cancer cells can no longer be seen.

On the other hand, sometimes an imaging test shows something that looks like cancer, but a biopsy or other further testing reveals that it’s not.