Tumors and tumorlike conditions of the large airways.

OBJECTIVE: Large-airway tumors and tumorlike conditions are uncommon, but a systematic approach aids in narrowing the differential diagnosis. In this article, we describe an approach to dealing with large-airway lesions and discuss their imaging characteristics and clinical presentations. CONCLUSION: We have found it useful to separate these entities into groups on the basis of the distribution pattern (focal vs diffuse) and location (trachea vs bronchi).