Diagnostic imaging of post-irradiation changes in the chest

Radiation-induced Lung Disease and the Impact of Radiation Methods on Imaging Features

“…Typically, this effusion is small and is seen with acute radiation pneumonitis (2). Computed tomography (CT) is more sensitive and demonstrates radiation-induced changes earlier than chest radiography (10)(11)(12)(13). Furthermore, it is much more useful in evaluating the precise distribution and pattern of the resulting lesion.…”

Thoracic manifestations of external beam radiotherapy.

“…Changes are often not radiologically detectable; however, CT is more sensitive thanconventional radiographyin the detectionof suchchanges [1].…”

“…Although virtually all patients develop pneumonitis after undergoing radiotherapy, chest radiographs often show normal findings [1]. CT of the chest, single-photon emission computedtomography,or pulmonary func tion testing may show abnormalities despite a normal chest radiograph.…”

“…Chronic or fibrotic changes are almost cx elusively seen within the margins of the radi ated field [1,5]. tween the radiated and normal areas of the lung.…”

Radiological pulmonary findings after breast cancer irradiation: A prospective study

“…Although radiological changes in the lung after irradiation have been known for many decades, there are few prospective studies on the subject [9 Á/13]. Numbers of patients have been small in these studies [9,10,13]. The information obtainable by computed tomography (CT) is more detailed than that from plain radiographs [9,14].…”