Lung Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Lung Cancer, including details on symptoms, smoking, genetics, treatment, causes. | ||||||||
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Usefulness of low-dose CT in the detection of pulmonary metastasis of gestational trophoblastic tumours.Xu XJ, Lou FL, Zhang MM, Pan ZM, Zhang L Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital, Woman Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. AIM: To determine whether a low-dose spiral chest computed tomography (CT) examination could replace standard-dose chest CT in detecting pulmonary metastases in patients with gestational trophoblastic tumour (GTT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a prospective investigation, 67 chest CT examinations of 39 GTT patients were undertaken. All the patients underwent CT examinations using standard-dose (150 mAs, pitch 1, standard reconstruction algorithm) and low-dose (40 mAs, pitch 2, bone reconstruction algorithm) protocols. Two radiologists interpreted images independently. A metastasis was defined as a nodule within lung parenchyma that could not be attributed to a pulmonary vessel. The number of metastases detected with each protocol was recorded. The size of each lesion was measured and categorized as <5, 5-9.9, and > or = 10 mm. Wilcoxon's signed rank test was used to assess the difference between the numbers of lesion detected by the two protocols. RESULTS: The CT dose index (CTDI) for the standard-dose and low-dose CT protocols was 10.4 mGy and 1.4 mGy, respectively. One thousand, six hundred, and eighty-two metastases were detected by standard-dose CT, and 1460 lesions by the low-dose protocol. The numbers detected by low-dose CT were significantly less than those detected by standard-dose CT (Z=-3.776, p<0.001), especially for nodules smaller than 5mm (Z=-4.167, p<0.001). However, the disease staging and risk score of the patients were not affected by use of the low-dose protocol. CONCLUSION: Low-dose chest CT can be used as a staging and follow-up procedure for patients with GTT. Published 3 September 2007 in Clin Radiol, 62(10): 998-1003.
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