Incidental findings during follow-up scans in oncological patients

Authors

  • Cosmin Caraiani
  • Anamaria Pop
  • Adriana Calin
  • Lidia Ciobanu
  • Claudia Militaru
  • Alexandra Berghe
  • Radu Badea

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15386/cjmed-931

Keywords:

pulmonary embolism, cancer, contrast-enhanced computed tomography, follow-up

Abstract

Background and aim. To assess the prevalence of incidental findings during follow-up scans of patients with oncologic pathology.

Methods. 499 follow-up scans from different patients with cancer pathology were retrospectively analyzed. Findings which were not suspected by the clinician or known from previous scans were considered as incidental lesions. We excluded lesions that were already suspected by the clinician or were already recorded in the patient’s history before the initial computed tomography (CT) scan. The CT scans were performed on two different machines (“Siemens Somatom Sensation, 64 slices, Erlangen, Germany” and “Siemens Somatom Emotion, 16 slices, Erlangen, Germany”).

Most of the patients had a native scan followed by a thoraco-abdominal-pelvic image acquisition after the injection of intravenous contrast media.

Results. 28% of the patients had unsuspected incidental findings. The prevalence of incidental findings was similar: 56.6% of them were found in men and 43.4% in female patients. In 6 cases (1.2%) the presence of unsuspected pulmonary embolism was discovered. From these cases, 5 (83.3%) had metastatic disease at the moment of the follow-up CT scan and 1 (16.6%) had metastasis-free disease. In 17 patients out of 499 (3.4%) we incidentally made an important discovery which either changed the cancer therapy or required immediate treatment.

Conclusion. Incidental findings are not rare in oncological patients and the radiologist has to be aware of their presence in order not to overlook them and to correctly diagnose them.

Author Biographies

Cosmin Caraiani, UMF "Iuliu Hatieganu" Cluj-Napoca, jud. Cluj

Medical Imaging

Anamaria Pop, Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Adriana Calin, Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Lidia Ciobanu, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania and Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Claudia Militaru, Medisprof, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Oncology

Alexandra Berghe, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cluj-Napoca

Medical Informatics and Biostatistics

Radu Badea, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cluj-Napoca

Radiology, Hepatology, Gastroenterology

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Published

2018-07-24

How to Cite

1.
Caraiani C, Pop A, Calin A, Ciobanu L, Militaru C, Berghe A, Badea R. Incidental findings during follow-up scans in oncological patients. Med Pharm Rep [Internet]. 2018 Jul. 24 [cited 2025 Oct. 5];91(3):293-9. Available from: https://medpharmareports.com/index.php/mpr/article/view/931

Issue

Section

Original Research