Gastric tumour detection

It is only the ability of modern chemistry to detect very small quantities of materials that made the following discovery possible. In some recent research it was reported that one subtle way in which cancer tumours cells differ from normal cells is how they metabolize carbohydrates present on their surfaces. Cancer cells have far more of the carbohydrate sialic acid, which can be detected with MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) analytical techniques. It was found that the sialic acid normally appears on the surface of the cells only in foetal development, but it appears abnormally in patients with gastric, colon, pancreatic, liver, lung, prostate and breast cancers, as well as in leukaemia. Research is continuing.1... 

While sonography and hydrosonography of the stomach may detect gastric cancer (Ch. 16), gastric submucosal tumours (Ch. 19) and gastroduodenal ulcers, it can not be used for routine assessment of the stomach in dyspeptic patients, endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound being much more accurate diagnostic tools (Fig. 21.1). 

Optimum CT technique requires high spatial resolution, good gastric distension and an appropriate timing of contrast media injection in order to detect subtle changes in the gastric wall and to accurately stage tumours. Table 6.2.1 provides an overview of techniques for various multislice CT machine types. 

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