Does anyone know if a CT scan findings is diagnostic or whether further tests are done to confirm results?

Answer 1

pretty much the gold standard, of dianosis.
MRI would be next.

Answer 2

A CT is a good diagnostic tool to confirm the presense of suspected disease and is often used after a cancer diagnosis to monitor the progess of disease. But it is rarely the only diagnostic tool used especially during the first diagnosis of cancer. In my sons case he had multiple tumors within the abdomen which clearly showed on the CT. However, in order to identify the type of cancer a biopsy was done.


In the monitoring phase, a CT has limitations in regards to size of the tumor, and cannot detect disease under 1 cm very well. Sometimes a CT will be used in conjunction with a PET scan to identify suspect areas.

So, the answer to your question is that yes, further tests are usually done to confirm the results seen on a CT.

Answer 3

Usually a CAT Scan does the trick in identifying the tumor/mass of tissue that is abnormal in the body. An MRI identifies there is a tumor and both these test let Drs know about the size and location of the tumor/mass down to the exact measurement. It tells you where the tumor is in comparison to any other organs, etc... sort of like a map.
A doctor can touch the area if able to do so, and tell by the 'feel' of the mass whether or not it is malignant. However, to correctly diagnose 100% whether or not there is malignancy / cancer in the tumor, a biopsy will need to be done.
This is generally done easily by outpatient quick simple hardly painful procedures for a snippet of the mass.
There are times when the Dr knows clearly the tumor is cancer and must be removed. Example: Kidney- if there is a mass in the kidney it most always will be cancer and kidney will need to come out... you have two kidneys, by taking the bad one you are better off- so here, the doctors know in advance what is up.

I encourage you to look up this company/medical practiceon the internet: 'Rational Therapeutics'.
Rational Therapeutics is headed by Robert Nagourney, MD, a chief pathologist, who does extensive cancer research. He and a few other physicians in the US do a procedure for the cancer patient which helps you in your overall cure for the patient, if indeed cancer... and also helps your oncologist (cancer doctor) to determine the best cancer med to be used that will zap away any diseased cancer cells that may continue growth after the surgery. Many physicians see to it that they and their loved ones consult with a doctor such as Dr Nagourney PRIOR to any surgical tumor removal.
Dr. Nagourney is in Southern California, however, you can live anywhere in North America to benefit from his procedures as Fed Ex will deliver to him a piece of your cancerous tumor for the testing. What he does is have the cancer surgeon remove a small but good and healthy piece of cancer... he then cultures your cancer tissue to find out what cancer med will really zap your cancer. This is done by growing your cancer in a petri type dish with spots of the best cancer medications available applied... your own type of cancer will not grow near the medicines that will help get rid of your type of cancer. There are many cancer meds available and oncologists usually give you the chemotherapy(cancer med) that they 'think' will help you... sort of a trial and error approach. By using the method of Dr. N., you are guaranteed the very best cancer med to zap your cancer entirely. Its an awesome procedure to benefit anyone facing cancer and will most likely add quality years to your life.
Unfortunately, most insurance will not cover this additional cost. It is a little pricey but well worth the cost to extend the quality of ones life.

Answer 4

CT scan is used to both diagnose or confirm a certain disease. however, CT scan are usaully used to determine the size and location of an organ, mass, tumor, etc.

Answer 5

of cancer? CT scan and even MRI comfirms only the "presence" of tumors but in the case of whether tumors are cancerous or not.. they are not confirmatory but rather a biopsy of a sample of that tumor which will be submitted for histopathology analysis which will confirm whether the tumor is benign or malignant. experienced doctors who are well-versed in reading CT scans and MRI may recognize malignant characteristics of a tumor just by reading the scan but a biopsy will definitely be the most reliable.