Learning objectives
- To review the “M” descriptor of lung cancer.
-To discuss the most suitable imaging techniques for the depiction of distant metastasis in lung cancer.
-To describe the radiological appearance of lung cancer metastases.
-To illustrate other lesions that can mimic lung cancer metastases.
Background
Lung cancer remains the main cause of cancer-related death worldwide.
Accurate staging of the M descriptor of this neoplasm,
which is present in about 60% of the patients,
is of paramount importance and has a big impact on its management.
In the current 8th TNM edition of lung cancer,
a distinction is made between regional metastatic disease (M1a),
solitary distant (M1b),
and multiple distant (M1c) metastatic disease,
because of differences in the survival of the patients.
For the staging of this neoplasm,
apart from the...
Findings and procedure details
Intrathoracic metastasis (M1a)
Lung
Contralateral lung metastasis are found in 16–28% of patients,
and are considered stage M1a.
If the patient has pulmonary oligometastatic disease,
he can be treated with surgical resection or stereotactic body radiotherapy.
Use of the post-processing tool MIP (maximum intensity projection),
which displays the highest-density voxels from a data set onto a predefined single image plane,
helps detection of small nodules that can otherwise be missed.
Pulmonary lung cancer metastasis tend to be rounded,
multiple,
of varying sizes and have a...
Conclusion
Lung cancer is a very prevalent neoplasm with very high mortality rate,
in which early detection and precise staging is key.
Knowledge of the different radiological appearance,
potential locations and suitable imaging techniques for the detection of distant metastases is of great importance for the management and prognosis of this malignancy,
and therefore,
should be widely known by all thoracic radiologists.
References
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B.,
Lichtenberger,
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Benveniste,
M.,
de Groot,
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Wu,
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Erasmus,
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and Truong,
M.
(2018).
Revisions to the TNM Staging of Lung Cancer: Rationale,
Significance,
and Clinical Application.RadioGraphics,
38(2),
pp.374-391.
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Zhou,
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Yu,
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and Liu,
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