Like other cancers, the causes of bone tumors are still unknown. There are benign and malignant diseases, benign bone tumors are easily curable and have good prognosis, while malignant bone tumors develop rapidly and have poor prognosis and high mortality. So, how to self-examine bone tumor in life? How is the examination of bone tumor in hospital?
Hospital examination of bone tumor.
1.X-ray plain film
X-ray plain film is the first choice and important examination means in bone tumor diagnosis. According to the location of lesion, type of bone destruction, integrity of bone cortex, edge of lesion, presence or absence of sclerotic border, presence or absence of residual bone in lesion, calcification of tumor cartilage, tumor bone formation, presence or absence of periosteal reaction and its type, change of soft tissue around lesion area and other signs, it can suggest tumor or non-tumor, benign or malignant, primary and secondary lesions. It can indicate tumor or non-tumor, benign or malignant, primary and secondary lesions. With the development of digital technology, ordinary X-ray plain film has been replaced by CR and DR. With the improvement of X-ray plain film quality, we can get more and more accurate information to make accurate diagnosis, as the first choice examination method of bone tumor, we should pay attention to it, and we should not neglect the most basic examination because of the emergence of CT, MRI and other large examinations.
2. CT
CT is a tomography scan of lesions, which can clearly show the location, scope and relationship with muscles, organs, nerves and blood vessels of tumors, and can clearly and unambiguously show the internal structure of tumors, some tiny lesions or early malignant bone tumors can appear normal on X-ray, while CT is sensitive to tiny bone destruction, lesion involvement scope and density value inside bone destruction, and can show the internal structure of tumors earlier than plain film. It can show the extent of bone cortex and joint surface destruction, clarify the extra-bony and intramedullary invasion, and detect soft tissue masses at an early stage.
CT intensification scan refers to the rapid injection of contrast agent through the vein with a high-pressure syringe and then rapid and continuous scanning to observe the changes of blood supply in the arterial and venous phases of the lesion and to increase the contrast between the lesion and the surrounding normal tissues to facilitate the detection of the lesion and differential diagnosis. CT intensified scan has become a routine examination for bone tumor.
3.MRI
MRI is what we usually call magnetic resonance imaging. MRI is more sensitive than X-ray plain film and CT in detecting bone tumor, especially in observing the infiltration range of lesion, the relationship between soft tissue mass and blood vessel, the range of muscle edema and the way of tumor expansion, but its display of bone cortex and calcification is poor.
Therefore, MRI is mainly used to show the relationship between tumor and surrounding tissues, to clarify the size and invasion range of tumor, to distinguish the tissue components in the lesion area, to determine the extent of intramedullary infiltration of tumor and to judge the relationship between tumor and surrounding important blood vessels and nerves, which is very important for preoperative planning. In addition, MRI is also used to observe and evaluate the efficacy of radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery for bone tumors, and is used for the early detection of comorbidities and the detection of tumor recurrence and metastasis.
4.B ultrasound
Under normal physiological conditions, ultrasound is almost completely reflected on the surface of bone and it is difficult to penetrate bone tissue, so it is difficult to obtain images of the deep surface of bone. Ultrasound can more correctly estimate the location, extent and size of tumors, and can indicate whether soft tissue masses are destroying the bone cortex. Ultrasonography is very important for the diagnosis of soft tissue tumors, especially for the masses adjacent to joints. Ultrasonography can be used to understand the size and depth of soft tissue masses, whether the tumor is cystic or solid, and whether the tumor is rich in blood flow, which can help to determine the benignity and malignancy of soft tissue tumors. Therefore, ultrasound is the most widely used in preoperative diagnosis and postoperative follow-up of soft tissue tumors.
5.Angiography
Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) is a new diagnostic medical imaging technique used in clinical practice in recent years to detect the distribution of bone tumor vessels, the main vascular structures of lesions, and to show the abnormal changes of normal vessels and the status of abnormal vessels. The purpose of angiography is, on the one hand, to show the blood supply vessels of tumor and the extent of tumor invasion, such as sacrococcygeal tumor, which can be supplied by one internal iliac artery or bilateral internal iliac arteries, and some have lumbar artery or median sacral artery in addition to bilateral internal iliac arteries, and the type of blood supply can be clarified through angiography. On the other hand, the tumor nature and malignancy can be accurately judged according to the performance of tumor blood vessels and blood supply, so as to provide objective basis for the formulation of treatment plan and preparation of surgical resection.
6.Bone scan of whole body
Isotope bone scan detects metabolic abnormalities of bone tissue by radionuclide, so it can show certain bone tissue lesions before the abnormalities appear in X-ray and CT scan. In addition, bone scan can assist other imaging examinations to clarify the clinical diagnosis. The sensitivity of bone scan is very high, but the disadvantage is that the specificity is not high, the detection of lesions is accurate in localization, but the characterization is difficult, and there is some difficulty in distinguishing tumorigenic and non-tumorigenic diseases. Bone tumors, arthritis, bone infarcts, osteomyelitis, orthopedic surgery and fractures can all show radioactive concentrations. Isotope bone scans are primarily used to screen for multiple bone lesions. It is only a screening and cannot be used as a qualitative diagnosis.
The following are a few easy methods of bone tumor self-examination.
1. Touch the neck, armpit, groin (thigh fossa) and other places at least once a month to check whether there are enlarged lymph nodes (generally speaking, lymph nodes smaller than the size of peanut rice are considered normal), how the texture of enlarged lymph nodes is, whether they are fixed, and whether there is pressure pain.
2.When coughing for a long time, you should pay attention to whether there is blood mixed with the coughing sputum, the time of coughing, the site of chest pain, the amount of blood, and the color of the blood, etc.
3.When there is loss of appetite and emaciation, epigastric pain, if accompanied by nausea and vomiting, pay attention to whether the vomit has dark brown contents, pay attention to whether the stool is tarry or with blood, and whether the shape of the stool has changed.
4, a week after menstruation, women should look in the mirror and observe whether there is any change in the shape of their breasts, whether the nipples are sunken, put the fingers of the opposite side together and touch whether there is a lump in the breast; how hard the lump is, how mobile it is, whether it is adhered to the skin; whether there is an “orange peel-like” change in the skin on the surface of the breast; whether there is an enlarged lymph node in the armpit on the same side of the breast with a lump. whether there are enlarged lymph nodes in the axilla on the same side of the lump.
5. Women should observe daily or weekly whether there is bloody discharge in the leucorrhea and whether the leucorrhea has a fishy odor.
Pay special attention to whether there is any pain and a feeling of falling during the bowel movement and whether there is any change in the shape of the stool. When urinating, observe whether there is a shortening of the stroke, whether there is white discharge, whether there is hematuria, whether there is discomfort in the perineum, etc.
7. In case of long-term hoarseness, look in the mirror, open your mouth wide and breathe deeply, and observe whether there are enlarged tonsils and other swellings in the throat.
8. In case of long-term fever of unknown origin, the temperature should be measured 4 times a day, once in the morning, once in the middle of the day, once in the evening and once at night, for 3 days in a row, and records should be made. If necessary, check the blood routine, blood sedimentation, etc.
9.Men should pay attention to whether the foreskin of the penis is too long, whether there are ulcerated nodules in the urethra, and whether there are cauliflower-like swellings in the coronary sulcus of the penis that are prone to bleeding.
10.When there is pain in the limbs after strenuous activity and the activity is limited, attention should be paid to whether there is swelling in the joints of the limbs and whether the swelling can be touched under the skin. If there is a painless lump in the long bone area, you should go to the orthopedic department of the hospital for consultation.
11. Keep an eye on the changes of moles on various parts of the body surface, and pay attention to whether they grow rapidly and break down within a short period of time. Pay attention to any chronic ulcers on the surface of the body that do not heal over a long period of time.