Sole hospital in Hai Duong uses cell block technique in cancer screening

The Hai Duong Lung Hospital is the only provincial hospital in Hai Duong that performs cancer screening tests using the cell block technique.

The technique was transferred by the Central Lung Hospital in 2021, said Dr. Nguyen Van Luu, Director of the Hai Duong Lung Hospital.

This is a testing method that concentrates suspended cells in fluid specimens taken from patients’ nasopharynx, pleura, bronchus, etc. into a block by high-speed centrifugal force and a special binder.

The obtained cell block will be fixed to keep its shape after thin cutting and coloring for observation through an optical microscope by doctors to determine whether the cells in the fluid are cancerous.

“Conventional fluid cell testing methods only capture part of the cells in fluid specimens, thus reducing the diagnostic ability. Meanwhile, the cell block technique increases the ability to catch cancer cells to 98%,” said Luu.

The Hai Duong Lung Hospital also combines the cell block technique with biopsic and endoscopic ones for cancer testing.

These methods are synchronously implemented, contributing to improving the accuracy and efficiency of cancer screening, reducing the number of patients going to hospitals at higher levels.

The hospital tested about 3,000 people for cancer using the cell block technique in 2022.

BM