Radiology of Lung Cancer and Staging Flashcards
What percentage of patients with lung cancer present with advanced disease?
66%
What do you need to check when looking at a chest X-ray?
Name/marker/rotation/penetration
Lines/metal work
Heart
Mediastinum
Lung (zones - upper, middle, lower)
Bones
Diaphragm
Soft tissues
What are the first 4 things you should look at in a chest X-ray?
Name
Marker
Rotation
Penetration
What are the zones of the lungs in a chest X-ray?
Upper
Middle
Lower
What is A?
Mediastinum
What are you looking for in the mediastinum?
Hilar vascular structures crisply defined
No widening of mediastinum
Trachea should be central
What are you looking for in the lungs?
Compare upper, middle and lower zones
Look between ribs for lung detail
Remember to look ‘behind’ the heart
What is this?
Peripheral lung carcinoma
What is this?
Central lung carcinoma
How should we identify lung cancers on X-rays?
Compare with previous films
Always look at review areas
Remember lesions are often more subtle
What are the review areas of a chest X-ray?
Hila
Lung apices
Behind the heart
Behind the diaphragm
What is this?
Left hilar mass
What is this?
Right hilar mass
What is this?
Mass behind the heart
What is this?
Mass left costophrenic angle
What is this?
Right apex tumour
What could the clinical history for lung cancer include?
Increasing shortness of breath in smoker
History of pulmonary fibrosis
Recent haemoptysis
What follows taking a history and examining the patient?
CT
What should be evaluated using a CT scan?
Size
Shape
Atelectasis
Border
Density
Solid or non-solid
Dynamic contrast enhancement >25HU
Growth
What is atelectasis?
Collapse of lung resulting in reduced gas exchange
What is the collapse of the lung resulting in reduced gas exchange called?
Atelectasis
What is a pulmonary mass?
Opacity in the lung over 3cm with no medistinal adenopathy or atelectasis
What is an opacity in the lung over 3cm with no mediastinal adenopathy or atelectasis called?
Pulmonary mass
What is a pulmonary nodule?
Opacity in the lung up to 3cm with no mediastinal adenopathy or atelectasis
What is an opacity in the lung up to 3cm with no mediastinal adenopathy or atelectasis called?
Pulmonary nodule
What is the difference between a pulmonary nodule and a pulmonary mass?
Pulmonary mass is over 3cm and pulmonary nodule is up to 3cm
What could a solitary pulmonary nodule or mass be?
Lung cancer
Metastasis
Benign lung neoplasm
Infection
Vascular haemotoma
What could suggest a solitary pulmonary nodule or mass is a metastasis?
Previous history of breast. renal, seminoma or sarcoma cancer
What are examples of benign lung neoplasms?
Carcinoid
Hamartoma
What does the staging of lung cancer take into account?
Clinical history/examination
Performance status
Pulmonary function
What system does the staging of lung cancer use?
TNM international system for staging lung cancer
What does the TNM international staging of lung cancer consider?
Size and position of tumour (T)
Whether cancer cells have spread into the lymph nodes (N)
Whether the tumour has spread anywhere else in the body, metastasis (M)
What is T?
Size and position of tumour