title: CT findings of early-stage small cell lung cancer in a low-dose CT screening programme.
abstract: The survival of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is related to T, N, M components, and early diagnosis and treatment of limited stage SCLC may improve survival. The objective of this study was to review the initial and annual repeat screening computed tomography (CT) images of all five patients with SCLC, encountered in our 1996-1998 population-based screening for lung cancer, to clarify any subtle, characteristic CT findings of early-stage small cell lung cancer. The medical records of the patients were reviewed to examine demographic and clinical features. We identified characteristic CT features of SCLC in the lung periphery, which were related to gross pathologic findings with longitudinal spread along the bronchial wall: a small spindle-shaped or pyramidal lesion was found as a subtle CT finding of SCLC, and irregularly shaped nodular lesions (vermiform, pine-cone-like or tandem-like nodular lesions) appeared at a more advanced stage. Tumour volume doubling time of the cases ranged from 38 days to 217 days. All five patients were male smokers: four patients underwent surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy; three of them remain alive, while the remaining patient, an interval case, died of lung cancer. One patient refused treatment and died of a cause other than lung cancer. Annual repeat CT screening was useful for detecting SCLC cases mostly at a curable stage, and information about CT features, presented here, should help physicians identify SCLC at an earlier-stage and lead to a more successful treatment of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, JA Nagano Azumi General Hospital, Ikeda, Nagano 399-8695, Japan. azhpsone@janis.or.jp
authors.forename: Shusuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sone
authors.forename: Tomio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsushima
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haniuda
authors.forename: Yoshiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Takaomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hanaoka
authors.forename: Fumiyoshi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Takayama
authors.forename: Tomonobu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koizumi
authors.forename: Keishi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kubo
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamanda
authors.forename: Ryoichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fushimi
authors.forename: Takaichiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed