Diagnostic procedures

Author: Gesche Tallen, MD, PhD, erstellt 2004/12/01, Editor: Dipl.-Biol. Maria Yiallouros, Reviewer: Prof. Dr. med. Ursula Creutzig, English Translation: Dr. med. Gesche Tallen, Last modification: 2011/08/19 doi:10.1591/poh.kinderkrebsinfo.untersuchungen

If your child presents with symptoms indicative of cancer, or if cancer has already been diagnosed, different tests are necessary to confirm the diagnosis or to plan the required treatment, respectively.

Once the diagnosis has been made, further tests (primary diagnostics, staging) are performed prior to treatment. They serve to determine whether the cancer has spread and what the patient's individual risk-factors are (risk-stratification) in order to plan optimal treatment. Risk-adapted treatment concepts contributed considerably to the dramatic increase in survival rates of childhood cancer patients during the last two decades.
Further diagnostic exams follow during treatment in order to monitor the efficacy of the treatment and also to detect potential acute side-effects. Following the intensive treatment phase, further tests (follow-up exams) are regularly needed to reveal possible longterm side-effects as well as possible recurrent disease.

The following pages will give you an overview and explanations of different diagnostic procedures. However, not every test is performed for every type of cancer. Certain diagnostics are reserved for specific diseases and individual situations, while others are routinely performed as primary diagnostics, during treatment and as follow-up examinations.

Detailed information on which tests are usually performed for a certain type of cancer is given on our pages referring to the different diseases. Overall, your child's caregiver-team will inform you concretely on which tests are necessary in your child's individual situation and why.