Relevance of an incidental chest finding

Abstract

Solitary pulmonary nodule represents 0.2% of incidental findings in routine chest X-ray images. One of the main diagnoses includes lung cancer in which small-cell subtype has a poor survival rate. Recently, a new classification has been proposed including the very limited disease stage (VLD stage) or T1-T2N0M0 with better survival rate, specifically in those patients who are treated with surgery. However, current recommendations postulate that surgery remains controversial as a first-line treatment in this stage. We present the case of a 46-year-old female referred to our hospital with a preoperative diagnosis of a solitary pulmonary nodule. On initial approach, a biopsy revealed a small cell lung cancer. She received multimodal therapy with surgery, chemotherapy, and prophylactic cranial irradiation and is currently alive without recurrence on a 2-year follow-up.

A recommended method in order to interpret chest x-rays for diagnosing small size pneumothorax

“…[12] Although various options such as computed tomography are also commonly recommended to increase the accuracy of diagnosis, CXR remains a valuable imaging modalities that is initially used for the evaluation of the chest and its related organs such as plural cavity at the first line. [3] Pneumothorax is a serious disorder that can be both progressive and life threatening indicated with the presence of air in the plural cavity.…”

Surgery in limited-disease small-cell lung cancer

“…[ 19 ] If the procedure can easily be tolerated. The case by Arturo and Daniel et al ,[ 20 ] is another admonition that must prompt physicians dealing with lung cancer to strongly consider surgery in patients with LD-SCLC, mostly in tandem with other modalities of management. Since very few patients fall into this category, a randomized international collaborative study is the need of the hour to carve recommendations based on robust statistical numbers.…”