The new CT scan, particularly low-radiation (Low Dose CT), is the easiest and safest test that can detect malignancy in the lung even from the very early stages, ensuring the earliest possible treatment.
Is there a difference between low-dose CT and traditional X-ray when screening for lung cancer?
The type of CT scan recommended for lung cancer screening is a form of CT scan known as a spiral or helical CT scan. The X-ray generating tube is continuously rotated in a spiral motion around the body and takes several three-dimensional images of the lungs. These images are very detailed and can show early-stage lung cancer that may be too small to be detected by a traditional X-ray. Traditional X-rays can identify lung cancers the size of a penny, while spiral CT scans can reveal abnormalities in the lungs the size of a grain of rice. This is a crucial difference - the smaller the tumour when detected, the less likely the cancer cells are to have spread to other parts of the body. This means more treatment options and a better chance of survival.
Modern technology has succeeded in minimizing the radiation dose that the patient receives during a helical CT scan. Thus, the method of low dose CT (Low Dose CT) was proposed and is currently used.
Compared to a conventional chest CT scan, a low-dose CT scan for lung cancer uses about 5 times less radiation. Although the radiation exposure from a low-dose CT scan is higher than a standard X-ray, the benefits of getting such a screening dramatically outweigh the risks of not getting the screening, especially if there is a high risk of developing lung cancer.
Thus, it has been established in the international literature that people with a high risk of developing lung cancer, such as heavy smokers, asthmatics, etc., should undergo a preventive radiological examination of the chest to exclude cancer. Till now, we have been using the conventional X-ray method because of the high dose of conventional helical CT scan. Modern low-dose CT technology allows us to perform screening tests with a much lower radiation dose.
The Radiation Diagnostic Laboratory of the ''AGIOS LUCAS'' Clinic has the state-of-the-art 128-slice CT scanner, Siemens GoTop (the first in Northern Greece), which has the ability to image all structures of the human body, with high diagnostic accuracy and particularly low radiation doses (very important for everyone and even more so for young and pediatric patients).
The Siemens Go Top CT scanner is also combined with the new generation Syngo Via software, with capabilities of state-of-the-art 3D post-processing applications, such as Cinematic Rendering, which are perfectly utilized and highlighted by the highly trained technologists, in collaboration with the Laboratory's physicians.
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