The diagnosis process of this cancer is summarized as follows:

Biopsy:

This test is quite useful in the definite diagnosis of endocrine tumor . A pathologist removes the small amount of tissue in order to examine it thoroughly under microscope. There are different types of biopsy process based on the location of the tumor. Two most common are Fine needle aspiration and Surgical biopsy.

Fine needle aspiration: in this biopsy a doctor injects local anesthetic into the skin close to tumor for numbing the area. After that the doctors insert a thin needle into tumor to remove a small amount of tissue and some fluids. A doctor may repeat the same procedure two or three times so that different samples are collected from the different areas of tumor. A report is given by Pathologist after the examination of this sample and it may be positive or negative.

Surgical biopsy:  In this test the tumor and possibly other tissues in the area will be removed by surgery.

Laboratory tests:

In this test the samples of the patient’s blood, urine, and stool are taken to detect the abnormalities of hormone levels, glucose levels etc.

Neurological examination:

This test is performed to check the central nervous system. It includes the evaluation of the reflexes, motor and sensory skills, balance and coordination, and mental status.

Imaging tests:

Bone Scan:

In this scan, a doctor looks into the bone with the help of a radioactive material .  The doctor injects the material into the vein and after sometime it collects in the bone’s areas and then it is monitored by a special camera.  The area that is invaded by cancerous cells appears dark as compared to the normal area.

Computed tomography (CT or CAT) scan:

In this method , a three –dimensional picture of inside areas of body has taken via an x-ray machine. This image lets the doctors to detect the abnormalities resulted due to endocrine cancer.

Endoscopy:

The doctors look inside the body with the help of endoscope, a thin, lighted, flexible tube.  A doctor may uses the colonscope that is another type of endoscope to diagnose the tumor in the lower section of the digestive system.

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging process is used to produce the detailed images of body through magnetic fields.

Sometimes the doctors may go for Positron emission tomography (PET scan) or for Radionuclide scanning (OctreoScan) to know about the extent , stage and cause of Endocrine cancer.

One of the most important risk factor is Exposure to radiation, when Skin is exposed to UV rays the radiation will increase the chance of having endocrine cancer.  Due to HIV in the body, the body becomes weak by the failure of plasma cells and our body exposes to infections which increase the chance of having endocrine cancer.  Family heredity can be a cause of Endocrine cancer itself: Endocrine cancer can occur with the family members being infected earlier and this links up with family and becomes hereditary. Infection of cancer in the past makes a person who is suffering with other cancer diseases have more risk factors in causing endocrine cancer. There can be one or several factors causing Endocrine cancer, and such causes can be identified with diagnosis of the cancer.

With each and every cause the endocrine cancer is of many types and each one has its own causes. Thyroid cancer which is formed with the swelling in the neck part infecting the voice strings, Carcinoid lung tumor, pancreatic cancer, will be found when the release of the juices from pancreas to liver will not be release regularly and with this the cancer is formed in the pancreas. At present many doctors are conducting researches and causes of the Endocrine cancer in the cells cannot be revealed. The person who is more immune is exposed to these cancers and the other who is not immune is not exposed. No doctor, scientist or the researcher can predict which type of cancer it is in the earlier stages as this cancer in infects the hormonal glands in the Endocrine system.

Till date its been  a mystery that the cause of the cancer in the cells cannot be determined and many doctors are working on this to find out why one person is infected and other who has all the exact features is not affected. No one can predict the type of cancer in the earlier stages with the infection of the cancer in the hormonal glands on the Endocrine system as there are many cancer types like pancreas cancer, thyroid cancer, diabetes etc. The areas that were affected by this type of cancer are stomach, kidneys, reproductive system, Immune system, thyroid glands.

The most commonly found type of endocrine caner is the Thyroid cancer. Most of the found cases for the Endocrine cancer states that the main cause of this is with the Age, exposure to radiation, Hereditary and also with low Iodine diet content. The thyroid cancer can be found by locating a swelling in the neck portion, difficulty in speaking, swallowing and pain in the throat area. Initially the physical diagnosis is done by the doctor and with the blood test to check the levels of the hormones released by the thyroid glands. Based on the reports of the physical examination and the Blood test the doctor suggests for the ultra sound scanning, radio nuclide scanning and biopsy, through which the damaged cells are removed and this is the only way to find whether the cells are damaged are not.