[Role and limits of diagnostic imaging in the staging of lung cancer]. / Ruolo e limiti dell'imaging diagnostico nella stadiazione del cancro del polmone.

A total of 474 histologically proved Lung Cancers (LC) were evaluated by Conventional Radiology (CR) and Computed Tomography (CT) in order to assess the role of these two diagnostic modalities in the staging of LC. In 196/474 LC it was possible also to refer, for the evaluation of the diagnostic reliability, to the surgical control. The CR features of LC both at stage III (13% of the global series) and at stage I-peripheral T1 (16% of the global series) presented very high positive and negative predictive values (90% and 95%, retrospectively); in these cases it was considered useless to perform CT. The CT grading showed a high negative predictive value in excluding stage III caused respectively by grade T3 (91.5%) and grade N2 (93.5%). As to the staging, the CT assessment of the stage I and II showed a high predictive value (91.5%). On the other hand, the CT assessment of stage III presented an unsatisfactory predictive value (71%), due to the low predictive value in grade T3 (71.5%), poor in grade N2 (57.5%). The increase of the value threshold mediastinal adenopathies from 1 to 2 cm, leads to a great improvement of this predictive value (92%). The CT reliability was matched with the two different surgical "philosophies" (non aggressive or aggressive); surgery was excluded or performed according to the presence of omo-lateral mediastinal adenopathy. A correct advice to perform surgery was achieved in 33.5% (non aggressive "philosophy") and 43.8% (aggressive "philosophy") of cases; surgery was correctly excluded respectively in 49.6% and 45.9%. The resort to mediastinoscopy was advised in 7.8% and 1.3% of the cases respectively. In both "philosophies" the error of under-staging was lower (2.5%), than that of over-staging (6.6%).

[The lung of the severely premature infant: radiologic aspects]. / Il polmone del grande prematuro: aspetti radiologici.

The iatrogenic pulmonary complications (interstitial emphysema, pneumothorax, atelectasis, broncho-pulmonary dysplasia) in 87 premature infants (less than 32 weeks gestational age, birth weight less than 1500 g) are analyzed. Also the predictive value of the radiologic pattern of the lung of the premature infant as seen at birth is evaluated (predictive value versus survival beyond the fifth day and versus the possible need of assisted ventilation).

[Radiologic approach to endocrine pathology in childhood]. / Approccio radiologico alla patologia endocrina in età pediatrica.

The new imaging techniques (ultrasound, CT, digital subtraction angiography) have greatly modified the diagnostic approach to the endocrinopathies in pediatric age, notably if of surgical interest. The main clinical indications to the ultrasound and/or CT study of hypophysis, thyroid, adrenals and female internal genital tract are synthesized in this paper. A diagnostic flow-chart is also suggested for each clinical entity.

Radiological aspects of cancer of the esophagus.

The role radiology plays in the study of cancer of the esophagus (CE) involves three different diagnostic steps: identification of CE; staging of CE and postoperative follow-up. This study comprises 117 cases of CE, all surgically confirmed: in 57/117 CE, resection of the neoplasm with subsequent reconstruction of the digestive tract proved possible; in the remaining 60/117 non-resectable CE, a Celestin prosthetic tube was positioned. The radiological diagnosis was correct in 92.3% of the cases, the diagnostic error (9/117: 7.7%) being mainly due to under-diagnoses (6/9) rather than false negatives (3/9). Conventional radiology provided satisfactory results in the staging of CE. Among the postoperative complications in the 57 resected patients, fistulae (13/57) and mediastinal abscesses (1/57) were early complications, whereas stenosis of the anastomosis (5/57) and neoplastic recurrences (3/57) were late complications. The possible role of diagnostic delay in the poor prognosis of CE, as well as its possible causes, are discussed in this paper.

Typical and atypical carcinoids within the pulmonary APUD tumor spectrum.

The behavior of pulmonary APUD tumors is not constant; management is controversial, and morphology has reached its limit as a tool for prognostic assessment and therapeutic planning. We have studied 24 patients with carcinoids; 17 patients with typical carcinoids presented with Stage I disease, but one patient later died most probably of small cell undifferentiated lung cancer (SCLC). Seven patients with atypical carcinoids included three with Stage III cancers, one patient with simultaneous bilateral carcinoids, and one patient with simultaneous adenocarcinoma. Of 17 patients with typical carcinoids, 16 or 92% are disease free or died of unrelated causes. Of seven patients with atypical carcinoids, five or 71% are disease free. Tumor doubling time of atypical carcinoids, was 79.6 months (45 to 120) or six times shorter than that of typical carcinoids (p less than 0.05). Two of the three deaths from cancer were probably from SCLC and one from a synchronous adenocarcinoma. Review of diagnostic material from 12 patients with SCLC who survived a mean of 41 months (24 to 134) showed that diagnosis had rested on cytology alone in four patients and that, in seven patients, the quality or extent of the original diagnostic material was adequate to make the diagnosis of a malignant tumor but inadequate to permit reclassification. Tumor cells from 11 patients with carcinoids (seven typical and four atypical) and 28 patients with SCLC had DNA measurement by image analysis. The mean DNA content of typical and atypical carcinoids and SCLC is 1.17, 1.25, and 1.94 respectively (p less than 0.001). These findings strongly suggest a relationship between DNA content and atypia or malignancy in APUD lung tumors. We conclude that there are at least two levels of virulence among carcinoids represented by typical and atypical carcinoids. The prognosis for treated Stage I typical and atypical carcinoids is excellent. When deaths occur, they are from systemic cancer. Current evidence indicates that DNA measurements by image analysis may help to discriminate levels of malignancy among APUD pulmonary cancers and thereby help to clarify therapeutic controversies.

Thermographic patterns of lower limb arterial disease.

General and local abnormalities of thermic distribution in the affected limb were related to some basic patterns. Hyperthermic pattern, localized or general: it depends on existence of collateral pathways (when main arterial branches are occluded). Hypothermic pattern, localized or general: it depends on existence of severe arterial stenosis with blood flow decrease.