THE ROLE OF CT IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF LUNG CANCERS

Gomputed tomographic （CT） scan of 37 cases of lung cancers and 13 benign lesions were analyzed retrospectively. It was shown that CT is a method of choice in the detection of pulmonary lesions, as compared with the conventional chest X-ray films, especially the subpleural lesions and those partially hidden and questionably hidden by the mediastinum.
CT is not only valuable for the detecting the lung lesions themselves, but it is also of help in outlining their exact extent and providing informations about operability and planning for therapy. According to our study, we consider that the delineation of the shape and contour of the lesions also play an important role in the differential diagnosis, rather than CT attenuation coefficient alone.
Our experience with computed tomography of the thorax indicates that, at present, CT has its greatest practical value in the evaluation of the mediastinal and the hilar structures.