The applications of imaging in lung cancer

The applications of imaging to the lung cancer patient have become more focused recently. Screening of high risk patients is not recommended even though intuition and clinical judgment prevail in practice to justify the use of chest radiographs in this patient category. Cross-sectional imaging procedures should be tailored to the staging process in the individual with a large central primary or to confirm an abnormality noted on the chest radiographs. The patient at high risk for thoracotomy is generally also subjected to radiologic staging. The radiologic staging process is reviewed and critiqued, emphasizing our role in identifying the disease sites that would suggest nonrespectability.