[Bronchial carcinoma: demands on the clinician and radiologist]

The pneumologist, radiologist and thoracic surgeon are an inseparable team in diagnosis and therapeutical planning in bronchial carcinoma. However, our main concern is to limit the number of imaging methods that are not necessary in the actual diagnosis and treatment of the disease. We should like to emphasise on the basis of our experience that the early use of bronchiological and other thoracic endoscopic methods is always justified. Hence, the pneumologist must make the following demand on the radiologist: The radiologist must invite the pneumologist for assessment and treatment already after the first suspicion of bronchial carcinoma becomes evident on x-ray film or during screening. The pneumologist will then establish the need for employing other imaging methods on the basis of the pattern of signs and symptoms presented by the patient.