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Most cancer diagnoses are made based on images. You have to see a tumor, or compare images of it over time, to determine its level of threat. Ultrasounds, MRIs, and X-rays are all common types of images that radiologists use to collect information about a patient and perhaps cause a doctor to recommend a biopsy. Once that section of the tumor is under the microscope , (microscopy, yet another type of imaging), pathologists learn more about it. To gather even more information, a doctor may order a genetic panel. If that panel shows that the patient has a genetic anomaly, the doctor may search for clinical trials that match it, or turn to therapies that researchers have already proven effective for this combination of tumor and genetic anomaly through recent advances in precision medicine.

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