Stomach cancer, like any other organ, can not be diagnosed on the basis of symptoms alone. To confirm the diagnosis, the doctor prescribes a series of examinations, and a blood test is mandatory.
On the changes in normal blood parameters, a specialist determines the likelihood of developing a malignant process.
Types of blood tests for stomach cancer
The most common blood test is its general analysis.
This examination is assigned for various diseases, and it allows you to determine not only how the disease is going on, but also serves as a control of the effectiveness of treatment.
In malignant lesions of the body there are certain changes in the composition of the blood, but one general analysis for their detection is not enough.
A presumptive diagnosis of gastric cancer can be established by conducting several types of blood sampling at once, including:
- General analysis.
- Biochemical study.
- Detection of certain oncomarkers.
General analysis of
A general analysis is a study of blood taken on an empty stomach, less often from a vein. Particular attention when suspicion of gastric cancer is referred to such indicators of a general blood test as ESR, the number of leukocytes in the blood and the level of hemoglobin.
- ESR almost always increases with malignant neoplasms. The rate of erythrocyte sedimentation should normally not be more than 15 mm / h. A sharp increase in ESR indicates that the body has an active inflammatory process. The indicators of SLE characteristic for cancer, change little when carrying out antibacterial therapy.
- Leukocytes in the initial stages of cancer either remain normal, or somewhat decrease. As the disease progresses, the number of leukocytes increases markedly, and many young forms are found in the blood.
- In gastric cancer, in most cases, hemoglobin falls below the level of 90 g / l. This is due to the fact that a person consumes less nutrients, the tumor interferes with the full assimilation of food. In the late stages of cancer, anemia is associated with the disintegration of the tumor and with bleeding from it.
- The number of red blood cells drops to 2.4 g / l.
These changes occur in other diseases, most of which are successfully treated. Therefore, it is not necessary to evaluate the results of the blood test obtained by hand.
Biochemical study of
A biochemical blood test is performed to check the functioning of internal organs. The change in some indicators directly indicates the organ in which pathological changes occur, which body systems suffer in this case.
With the help of this analysis, it is possible to establish the likelihood of development of oncological lesions.
In gastric cancer, a number of changes are revealed in the biochemical blood test, these are:
- Decreased total protein. In malignant neoplasms, the level of this component of blood drops below 55 g / l. Proteins consist of globulins and albumins. With the development of cancer cells, the albumin content also decreases significantly, it becomes less than 30 g / l. Globulins on the contrary increase.
- The increase in lipase , the enzyme necessary for the breakdown of food, occurs if a malignant tumor from the stomach penetrates the pancreas.
- The increase in alkaline phosphatase is indicative of tumors developing in the body.
- Increase of glutamyltranspeptidase ( gamma GT).
- Increased activity of aminotransferases - ALAT, ASAT.
- Cholesterol change. Depending on the location of secondary foci in gastric cancer, cholesterol is reduced or vice versa.
- Decreased glucose.
- Increased bilirubin level. This pigment usually indicates the functioning of the liver, but with gastric cancer, it is possible to damage this organ.
At the initial stages, any oncological process has almost no effect on blood biochemistry, but as the cancer progresses, the blood components are increasingly departing from the norm. Usually, with a change in biochemical analysis indicating a possible malignant process, the physician prescribes a second study.
Study of the parameters of the
clotting system The blood coagulation system is a complex system consisting of:
- of the self-coagulating system. Its components are responsible for coagulation, that is, blood coagulation if necessary.
- Anti-coagulant system, the components of this system are responsible for anticoagulation.
- The fibrinolytic system ensures the dissolution of already formed thrombi. This process is called fibrinolysis.
With the development of gastric cancer of various forms, there is an increased thrombus formation. This is expressed by an increase in blood values such as APTTV, TV, PTI.
Compensatory mechanisms in the event of hypercoagulability trigger the activation of fibrinolysis, which is necessary to dissolve thrombi. Therefore, with gastric cancer, an increase in the indices of antithrombin and antithromboplastin is revealed.
Definition of oncomarkers for stomach cancer
If conducted surveys suggest the development of a human malignant lesion of the stomach, then he can be assigned a blood test for oncomarkers.
In gastric cancer, a deviation from the norm of a cancer marker identified as CA 125 is detected. This is a high molecular weight glycoprotein, which is essentially an antigen. It can be detected in a certain concentration in the blood of a healthy person, in this case it is approximately 35 units / ml.
The antigen refuses overestimated when forming both malignant and benign tumors. But with cancer, the indicator of this oncomarker increases quite strongly and is more than 100 U / ml.
In gastric cancer, the antigen CA 19-9 is also defined. This cancer marker is often used as an indicator indicating the effectiveness of treatment. Normally, the concentration of C 19-9 is between 10 and 37 units / l, with the development of a malignant tumor in the stomach, the value of the antigen reaches 500 units / liter.