Prevalence of alterations in chest computerized tomography in patients with head and neck cancer / Prevalência das alterações em tomografias computadorizadas de tórax em pacientes com câncer de cabeça e pescoço

Objective: to assess the prevalence of abnormalities found by computed tomography (CT) of the chest in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Methods: we retrospectively analyzed chest CT exams of 209 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The CT findings were stratified as inflammatory / infectious, parenchymal, nodular uncharacteristic and nodular metastatic / tumoral Results: alterations were diagnosed in 66.6% of patients. Of these, 25.3% represented emphysema; 18.8%, uncharacteristic micronodules; 12.9%, metastases; 11.9%, thoracic lymph node enlargements; and in 6.6% we detected active pulmonary tuberculosis or its sequelae, pneumonia or inflammatory / infectious signs and pleural thickening or effusion. Conclusion: the prevalence of exams with alterations and the considerable rate of detected metastases indicate that chest CT should be required for diagnostic and / or staging in cases of head and neck cancer.

Objetivo: avaliar a prevalência de alterações encontradas na tomografia computadorizada (TC) de tórax em pacientes com carcinoma epidermóide de cabeça e pescoço. Métodos: Foram analisadas retrospectivamente 209 TC de tórax de pacientes com carcinoma epidermoide de cabeça e pescoço. As alterações tomográficas foram estratificadas como: inflamatórias/infecciosas, parenquimatosas, nodulares incaracterísticas e nodulares metastáticas/tumorais Resultados: foram diagnosticadas alterações em 66,6 % dos exames. Destes, 25,3% representaram enfisema pulmonar; 18,8% micronódulos incaracterísticos; 12,9% metástases; 11,9% de linfonodomegalias torácicas; e, em 6,6%, foram detectadas tuberculose pulmonar ativa ou sequela, pneumonia ou sinais inflamatórios/infecciosos e espessamento ou derrame pleural. Conclusão: a prevalência de exames com alteração e o considerável índice de metástases detectadas, indicam que a TC de tórax deve ser solicitada para complementação diagnóstica e/ou estadiamento nos casos de câncer de cabeça e pescoço.

Prevalence of alterations in chest computerized tomography in patients with head and neck cancer.

OBJECTIVE: to assess the prevalence of abnormalities found by computed tomography (CT) of the chest in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. METHODS: we retrospectively analyzed chest CT exams of 209 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The CT findings were stratified as inflammatory / infectious, parenchymal, nodular uncharacteristic and nodular metastatic/tumoral. RESULTS: alterations were diagnosed in 66.6% of patients. Of these, 25.3% represented emphysema; 18.8%, uncharacteristic micronodules; 12.9%, metastases; 11.9%, thoracic lymph node enlargements; and in 6.6% we detected active pulmonary tuberculosis or its sequelae, pneumonia or inflammatory / infectious signs and pleural thickening or effusion. CONCLUSION: the prevalence of exams with alterations and the considerable rate of detected metastases indicate that chest CT should be required for diagnostic and / or staging in cases of head and neck cancer.