Noncancerous Abnormalities On Chest Radiographs May Prove Harmful

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Also Included In: Lung Cancer
Article Date: 13 Sep 2006 - 7:00 PDT


Common chest radiograph abnormalities generally not suspicious for lung cancer may actually be associated with an increased risk of lung cancer and/or mortality, according to a new study. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health followed 70,000 subjects from November 1993 to July 2001, who were enrolled in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. Subjects received a total of four posterior-anterior chest radiographs, starting at baseline and then at every 3 years. In all, 35 percent of examinations reported nonsuspicious abnormalities, compared with 8 percent suspicious for cancer, with some of the most common nonsuspicious abnormalities being granuloma, scarring/pulmonary fibrosis, and cardiac abnormalities. Researchers found that when controlling for age and smoking, scarring/pulmonary fibrosis showed a significant increased risk of lung cancer and cardiac abnormalities showed a significant increased overall mortality. This study appears in the September issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

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Newsbriefs from the journal CHEST, September 2006

Contact: Deana Busche
American College of Chest Physicians

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