Abdominal metastasis and cancer of the lung

Abdominal lymph node metastasis in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer as shown by PET/CT

PURPOSE

The aim of this study is to investigate the frequency and the spread of abdominal lymph node metastasis in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by (18)F-FDG PET/CT.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Retrospective evaluation of the (18)F-FDG PET/CT examinations of 1191 patients diagnosed with NSCLC was performed. The metastatic abdominal lymph nodes of the patients were classified as inside the routine imaging field (covering the field of chest CT including adrenal glands) and outside the field.

RESULTS

Seventy-four patients (6 F, 68 M; mean: 61 ± 11 years old) among 1191 patients (6%) were identified to have abdominal lymph node metastases. These abdominal lymph node metastasis changed management in 10 out of 74 patients (14%), and there were lymph node metastases outside the routine conventional imaging field in 43 (58%) patients.

CONCLUSION

(18)F-FDG PET/CT provided identification of the distant metastatic lymph nodes out of conventional imaging field in more than half of NSCLC patients with abdominal metastasis which changed patient management in 14% of the patients due to abdominal lymph node metastasis outside the routine imaging field. This study shows the necessity of imaging NSCLC patients with an imaging protocol with larger imaging field like PET/CT.

Long-term clinical follow-up after operation for lung carcinoma

From 1951 to July 1969, 964 lung resections for primary lung carcinoma have personally been carried out. All except eight patients, whose follow-up has been continued by colleagues elsewhere, have been examined at intervals in the outpatient department and chest radiographs have been taken. No patient has been lost from follow-up. The results of this follow-up are presented. The quality of the patient's life after operation, the cause of death, the results, and the relationship of survival to extent of operation are discussed. Details of 151 patients surviving more than five years, and of 49 surviving more than 10 years, are given. Information on the aspects under consideration is believed to be as complete as possible. The cause of death is doubtful in only two patients.