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Non-metastatic manifestations of cancer in the chest

Department of Radiology, Harefield Hospital, Hill End Road, Harefield, Middlesex UB9 6JH, UK

Summary

• Pulmonary embolus is the most common non-infective cause of death in cancer patients and is commonly asymptomatic.
  
• Lung opacities in cancer patients may require histological analysis to differentiate them from metastases.
  
• Lung infections in cancer patients more commonly involve atypical organisms and are commonly more severe than is the case in the general population.
  
• Therapy-induced lung disease is not uncommon and should be borne in mind when new lung findings occur.
  

Cancer and its complications remain one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The effects of cancer in the chest are multiple and varied. Though metastases to the lung are often considered to be of greatest importance, infection and/or pulmonary thromboembolism are most often associated with mortality in cancer patients. Some lung findings may commonly be found secondary to cancer therapies (e.g. fibrosis from radiation therapy) whereas others, such as bronchiolitis obliterans and organizing pneumonia, are encountered less often. This review seeks to familiarize the reader with a range non-metastatic findings in the lung that may be associated with cancer and its therapies.