In: Physics
Describe the lung cancer and how a CT scan has affected the diagnosis and/or treatment of this pathology over the years.
Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in one or both lungs. ... As they grow, the abnormal cells can form tumors and interfere with the functioning of the lung, which provides oxygen to the body via the blood.
An X-ray image of your lungs may reveal an abnormal mass or nodule. A CT scan can reveal small lesions in your lungs that might not be detected on an X-ray.
Since its introduction in the early seventies, computed tomography (CT) has been used to stage patients with lung cancer. Compared with the chest radiograph, CT offers important additional information not only about the localization, size and extent of the primary tumour but also about the locoregional and distal spread of this tumour. The major advantages of this technique are related to its axial format, its higher density resolution and its wider dynamic range. Continuous technical improvements and the development of more powerful and faster computers are responsible for the fact that today's CT examinations of the chest result in a large amount of detailed imaging information obtained in a very short time. Because of this evolution in technique, and also due to the development of new therapy strategies for lung cancer and the recent introduction of positron emission tomography (PET), the contribution of CT to the staging of patients with lung cancer is changing continuously.