Additional examinations for lung cancer

Information about the person’s smoking is among the most important background information when lung cancer is suspected.

If additional examinations are needed, we will perform a contrast-enhanced CT scan to determine the tumor’s location, size, and whether it has spread. In some cases, we will obtain information about the spread of the lung cancer by performing a PET scan to determine the tumor’s metabolism.

We assess lung function in the laboratory using spirometry tests.

We need a tissue sample from the tumor, which we usually obtain via a needle biopsy. We will examine the tissue sample to diagnose the lung cancer and to determine the cancer subtype, as well as the molecular genetic changes affecting treatment selection. In some cases, we can also examine these by taking a blood sample.

In some cases, it may be challenging to obtain a suitable tissue sample for diagnostic purposes due to the difficult anatomical location of the cancerous tumor, as well as the person’s decreased lung function and possibly impaired general condition. The duration of the pathological and molecular genetic assays of tissue samples in laboratories is usually 2–3 weeks.

Diagnostics and prevalence studies require physicians and expertise in various specialties (pulmonary specialist, radiologist, pathologist, clinical physiologist, molecular geneticist, surgeon).