Usefulness of brain scans in metastatic carcinoma of the lung

The usefulness of brain scans for detecting unsuspected cerebral metastasis in patients with carcinoma of the lung was studied in a group of 35 such patients who had had routine brain scans as part of the initial evaluation. Seven (20%) had scans that were positive for tumor, but six of these seven had neurologic deficits corresponding to the brain-scan abnormality. Routine brain scans for evaluation of carcinoma of the lung are not justified if neurologic examination is normal.