Diagnosis, investigations and tests

Your medical team may request some of the following tests and investigations:

 

Blood tests  – These will check your general health, full blood count and how well your liver and kidneys are working. They will also include measurement of neuroendocrine hormone levels to see if the tumour is functional. Read more about blood tests and book your next appointment.

 

CT Scan  - CT scans take cross-sectional pictures of your body. This normally takes around 10-20 minutes and contrast dye is often used to gain better imaging. Use this link to discover more about CT scans.

 

MRI Scan  – MRI uses magnetism to gather three dimensional images of a specific area in the body. The scan itself normally takes around 45 minutes to one hour. Find out more about MRI scans.

 

PET CT scan  – Positron emission tomography (PET) scans are used to investigate whether a tumour or cancer has spread to other organs in the body. By using a glucose injection, cancer cells can be detected on imaging. Use this link to learn more about PET Scans.

 

Dotatate PET CT scan – this scan is undertaken in London. When neuroendocrine tumours are diagnosed or suspected, this specialist scan uses gallium dotatate to detect neuroendocrine tumour cells which have spread to other parts of the body.