Chest ACCP Member Benefits
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Guest Access | Sign In via User Name/Password
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF) Free
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Article Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ferrigno, D.
Right arrow Articles by Buccheri, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ferrigno, D.
Right arrow Articles by Buccheri, G.
(Chest. 1994;106:1025-1029.)
© 1994 American College of Chest Physicians

Cranial Computed Tomography as a Part of the Initial Staging Procedures for Patients With Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Domenico Ferrigno M.D.1 and Gianfranco Buccheri M.D., F.C.C.P.1

1 From the A. Carle Hospital of Chest Diseases, Cuneo, Italy

With the possible exception of chemotherapy for the small-cell type. a complete surgical excision is still the only effective treatment of lung cancer. Routine brain computed tomography (CT) for staging purposes has been both advocated and opposed. In this retrospective study, we aimed to assess the clinical yield of the technique. We saw 184 consecutive patients with a new histologically proven non-small-cell lung cancer. Using as reference criteria clinical judgment supported by a strict follow-up evaluation, we counted 1 false- and 23 true-positive brain CT results, plus 2 false- and 158 true-negative findings. These figures allow for sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 92 percent, 99 percent, and 98 percent. The frequency of brain metastases did not correlate with the various histologic types, even though adenocarcinoma was the most common cause of cerebral metastases. The absence of neurologic symptoms did not exclude cerebral involvement: in our experience, 16 of 25 patients with positive brain CT scans were asymptomatic (64 percent). Three of 31 subjects (10 percent) with an otherwise operable carcinoma were found to have metastases after brain CT. We conclude that routine cranial CT is useful in the staging evaluation of the patient with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and that it should be performed in any candidate prior to surgical resection.

Submitted on October 1, 1993
Accepted on February 25, 1994




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 RadioGraphicsHome page
K. S. Lee, Y. J. Jeong, J. Han, B.-T. Kim, H. Kim, and O J. Kwon
T1 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Imaging and Histopathologic Findings and Their Prognostic Implications
RadioGraphics, November 1, 2004; 24(6): 1617 - 1636.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Eur Respir JHome page
N. Hollings and P. Shaw
Diagnostic imaging of lung cancer
Eur. Respir. J., April 1, 2002; 19(4): 722 - 742.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 RadiologyHome page
F. E. IV, J. H. Ryu, G. M. Miller, P. H. Luetmer, L. A. Forstrom, O. L. Burnett, C. M. Rowland, S. J. Swensen, and D. E. Midthun
Suspected Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer: Incidence of Occult Brain and Skeletal Metastases and Effectiveness of Imaging for Detection—Pilot Study
Radiology, April 1, 1999; 211(1): 137 - 145.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 ChestHome page
K. Yokoi, N. Kamiya, H. Matsuguma, S. Machida, T. Hirose, K. Mori, and K. Tominaga
Detection of Brain Metastasis in Potentially Operable Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A Comparison of CT and MRI
Chest, March 1, 1999; 115(3): 714 - 719.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1994 by the American College of Chest Physicians.