BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Radioopaque lesions are commonly seen in patients who received thoracic radiotherapy for various kinds of thoracic neoplasm, But therir exact diagnos are sometimes uncertain. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We examined simple chest radiograph and computed tomogram(CT) of 69 patients who received thoracic radiotherapy for lung cancer and were follow up at least 6 months in Yeungnam University Medical Center. RESULTS: Of the 69 patients. thirty-eight patients showed radioopaque lesions in their chest radiographs except radiation fibrosis; radiation pneumonitis was witnessed in 24 patients. infectious pneumonia in 8 patients, and recurrence in 6 patients. In radiateionpneumonitis patients, the pneumonitis occurred usually between 50 to 130 days after receiving radiation therapy, and interval between pneumonitis and fibrosis is 21 to 104 days. Simple chest radiographs of radiation pneumonitis(24 patients) represented ground glass opacities or consolidation in 4 cases(type I, 17%), reticular of reticulonodular opacities in 10 cases(type II, 42%), irregular patichy consolidations in 2 cases( type III, 8%), and consolidation with fibrosis in 8 cases(type IV, 33%), CT represent ground glass opacities or consolidation in 5 cases(type I, 29%), irregular nodular opacities in 3 cases(type II, 19%), irregular opacity beyond radiation fields in 3 cases(type III, 18%), and consolidation with fibrosis in 6 cased(typeIV, 35%). The CT of four patients who represented type II on simple chest radiographs reveal type I and III, and CT of two patients with clinical symptoms who had no abnormal finding on simple radiograph revealed type I. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, computed tomogram is superior to the simple radiograph when trying to understand the pathologic process of radiation pneumonitis and provide confidence in the diagnosis of radiation induced lung disease.
Academic Medical Centers ; Diagnosis ; Fibrosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glass ; Humans ; Lung Diseases* ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lung* ; Pneumonia ; Radiation Pneumonitis ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Radiotherapy ; Recurrence ; Thoracic Neoplasms

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to correlate the non-characteristic dual-phase CT imaging findings of hepato-cellular carcinoma with the observed characteristics of surgical specimens. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied four cases in which homogeneous low attenuation was observed during the arterial and delayed phases of dynamic CT scanning and in which hepatocellular carcinoma with coagulation necrosis above 95% was pathologically confirmed. We compared the findings of dual phase CT scanning, ultrasonography, angiography and Lipiodol CT scanning with the observed features of surgical specimens. RESULTS: Nodules were 30-50 (mean, 41) mm in size, and were round in three cases and oval in one. In all four cases, a low density lesion was observed during the arterial and delayed phases of dual-phase CT scanning. Ultrasonography demonstrated internal echo and the presence of a hypoechoic halo, implying that in all cases a capsule was present. At angiography and LiCT, minimal peripheral and central tumor staining or lipiodol up-take was observed. In all surgical specimens a complete capsule was visible, and histologic structures were mainly of the trabecular type, Edmondson grade II or III was recorded, and the mass had undergone extensive coagulation necrosis (above 95%). CONCLUSION: In cirrhotic liver which is hepatitis B-antigen positive, clear sonographic findings of internal echo and a capsule, rather than a simple cyst, indicate the possibility of hepatocellular carcinoma with extensive coagulation necrosis. This is so even if the arterial and delayed phases of dual-phase CT scanning indicate the presence of a low-density lesion, and in such cases additional work-up is therefore required.
Angiography ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Diagnosis* ; Ethiodized Oil ; Hepatitis ; Liver ; Liver Neoplasms ; Necrosis* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Ultrasonography