title: Postmortem computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in a case of terminal-stage small cell lung cancer: an experience of autopsy imaging in tumor-related death.
abstract: We report a case of terminal-stage small-cell lung cancer with multiple metastases in which postmortem computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (collectively called "autopsy imaging") were performed and correlated with conventional autopsy findings. In this case, autopsy imaging provided contemporaneous data that supported conventional autopsy findings. Autopsy imaging revealed the process of primary tumor growth, changes in metastatic lesions, and occurrences of new metastases in the terminal stage and made it easier to understand the clinical course of the patient. The usefulness of autopsy imaging after traumatic death, sudden death from natural causes, or congenital anomaly has been reported. Here, we attempted a preliminary study of its use in the detection of death due to tumor. Our results indicated that autopsy imaging provides useful information in cancer-related death and may be an alternative when conventional autopsy cannot be performed.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine, Tsukuba Medical Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Go
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Ryoo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Masatsune
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Hiroichi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shiotani
mesh_terms: D001344:Autopsy; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*