[Imaging of bronchial carcinoid tumors: 20 cases]

Report radiographic aspects and assess the contribution of computed tomography for the diagnosis and search for extension of bronchial carcinoid tumors.

This retrospective study included 20 patients with a bronchial carcinoid tumor. The thoracic exploration included standard chest x-ray, bronchial fibroscopy, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in two patients as well as abdominal ultrasonography to search for extension, performed in all patients.

This series included eleven females and nine males, mean age 40 years (age range 21-71 years). Signs on the plain chest x-ray were non-specific: atelectasis (75%), isolated parenchymatous opacity (15%); CT revealed a proximal mass in 85% which was obstructive leading to ventilatory disorders in 80%. CT revealed secondary ventilatory disorders with no individualized mass in one patients (5%), an isolated parenchymatous mass in two (10%) and a endobronchial budding at the origin of the right bronchus with no noted ventilatory disorder in one patient (5%) Tumor calcifications were detected in 30% of patients. Histological there were 17 typical carcinoid tumors and three atypical tumors which were different by their size, locoregional and distant metastatic spread.

CT is indispensable for positive diagnosis, and topographic localization of extension of bronchial carcinoid tumors. The main contribution of CT compared with fibroscopy is to demonstrate exobronchial tumor development and upstream pulmonary complications.