Utility of CT in detecting postpneumonectomy carcinoma recurrence

After pneumonectomy for bronchogenic carcinoma, detection of recurrent disease in the ipsilateral hemithorax or mediastinum is often difficult. The authors discuss the utility of CT in the evaluation of 18 postpneumonectomy patients who had developed new clinical symptoms. In six patients without documented tumor recurrence, CT demonstrated a normal postpneumonectomy appearance. In the other 12, CT confirmed the clinical impression of recurrent neoplasm (10 prospectively, two retrospectively), which appeared either as enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes or as a soft-tissue mass projecting into the normal near-water-density postpneumonectomy space. In only five of these patients were plain chest radiographs suggestive of recurrence (two prospectively, three retrospectively). The accurate assessment of the presence and extent of recurrent neoplasm by CT was important in planning radiotherapy in eight patients.