Diagnostic imaging of lung cancer

Carcinoma of the bronchus is the most common malignancy in the Western world. It is also the leading cause of cancer-related death accounting for 32% of all cancer deaths in males and 25% in females. In the USA it causes more deaths than cancers of the colon, breast and prostate combined. Disappointingly, in a recent UK survey of improvements in cancer survival, carcinoma of the bronchus showed the smallest percentage reduction in the number of deaths avoided between 1981-1990 (0.2%). This compares badly with breast (11% reduction) and melanoma (32%). The overall 5-yr survival for lung cancer diagnosed between 1986-1990 was only 5.3% (against 66% for breast and 76% for melanoma). It is on this background that the radiologist remains actively employed in the detection, diagnosis, staging and review of this common malignancy.