Common Tests Used To Diagnose Cancer

PET Scan

An individual who has symptoms indicative of cancer may need to have a positron emission tomography (PET) scan to help rule out or diagnose malignancy in their body. A PET scan is a useful way for a patient's physician to see the chemical activities of different body parts. While PET scans can be used for the diagnosis of many different conditions, it is utilized often for cancer screening and detection. A PET scan uses a substance referred to as a tracer to help highlight areas of the body that have a metabolic rate that differs from the rest of the cells in the body. Instead of searching for a physical mass or abnormality like x-rays, CT scans, and MRIs do, PET scans can show changes in the way cells are functioning. Cancerous cells grow and multiply at a much faster rate than healthy cells. Metabolic rate is the speed at which cells metabolize glucose into ATP or usable energy. The tracer used in PET scans for cancer detection contains glucose, which causes the prospective area with a faster metabolic rate to light up in the image.

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