Which tests are done to detect if lung cancer has mestastisized?

Which tests are done to detect if lung cancer has mestastisized?

Jay M. Lee (Surgical Director, Thoracic Oncology Program, UCLA) gives expert video advice on: How is lung cancer diagnosed?; What are some common non-surgical procedures used to diagnose lung cancer?; Can waiting for a lung cancer diagnosis cause a dangerous delay in treatment? and more...

There are a number of tests that are done to work up patients with lung cancer or suspected to have lung cancer. One aspect is radiologic studies and these things include a combination of CT scans, MRIs, PET CTs and regular X-Rays. You may not necessarily need all four of those types of imaging studies but it may involve a combination of those things. The other staging modality that's important is a surgical type and it's called mediastinoscopy. It's where lymph nodes in the center of the chest called the mediastinum are sampled and it's because lung cancer is in the lung tissue itself that are in the chest off to your sides drain into the lymph nodes in the center of the chest called the mediastinum and biopsying these lymph nodes is important because it gives a better stage, a pathologic stage of how extensive your cancer may be.