Related Experiment Videos
[Computed tomography in lung cancer--technique and quality]
Audun E Berstad1, Alf Kolbenstvedt, Trond Mogens Aaløkken
1Radiologisk avdeling, Rikshospitalet, Oslo. audun.berstad@rh.uio.no
Summary
Many lung cancer CT scans are not suitable for surgical evaluation due to suboptimal quality and varied techniques. Helical CT scans were significantly better than conventional scans for assessing operability.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Oncology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Surgical treatment for lung cancer is underutilized, with regional variations in Norway.
- The Cancer Registry of Norway collects CT scans from non-operated lung cancer patients.
- Variations in CT examination technique and quality among institutions were noted.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the technique and quality of thoracic CT examinations for lung cancer patients.
- To determine the adequacy of CT scans for pre-operative staging and operability assessment.
Main Methods:
- Three radiologists assessed thoracic CT examinations from 42 lung cancer patients across 32 institutions.
- Evaluations focused on examination technique and image quality.
- Comparison between helical CT and conventional axial scanning techniques was performed.
Main Results:
- Only 63% (27/42) of CT examinations were deemed acceptable for operability evaluation.
- Helical CT yielded acceptable quality in 88% (22/25) of cases, compared to 29% (5/17) for conventional axial scanning.
- Significant variations in scanning parameters (area, collimation, contrast, etc.) were observed, with contrast enhancement being insufficient in seven cases.
Conclusions:
- A substantial proportion of CT examinations were of suboptimal quality, hindering accurate pre-operative tumor staging.
- Diverse and inconsistent examination techniques were employed across institutions.
- Improvements in CT protocols are necessary to ensure adequate pre-operative assessment for lung cancer surgery.