Clinical

Cancers, other abnormalities often detected incidentally on coronary CT

Last Updated: 2007-07-06 17:34:27 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Results of a study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Cardiology suggest that cancers and other non-cardiac abnormalities are observed quite frequently in patients who undergo coronary multislice computed tomography (MSCT) for suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).

"MSCT is an established tool for detecting CAD," Dr. Yoshiyuki Kawano, of Oita University, Yufu, Japan, and colleagues write. "When coronary MSCT is performed in patients who are suspected of having CAD, cancers and other non-cardiac abnormalities can sometimes be incidentally found on the images."

The researchers reviewed images obtained on coronary MSCT for 625 consecutive patients (mean age 66 years). The team excluded eight patients with known cancers, so the final analysis included 617 patients (344 men and 273 women).

Cancers were found on the images in seven (1.13%) patients. These included four lung cancers (0.65%), two thyroid cancers (0.32%), and one hepatic cancer (0.16%).

Non-malignant abnormalities, including nodules, tumors, or lymphadenopathies, were observed in 142 patients (23.01%). The most common findings were lung nodules, hepatic cysts and benign thyroid tumors.

"Because patients who undergo coronary MSCT for suspected CAD are mostly elderly and therefore may have unrecognized cancers or other non-cardiac abnormalities, care should thus be taken not to overlook these abnormalities when analyzing the multislice computed tomographic images," Dr. Kawano's team advises.

Am J Cardiol 2007;99:1608-1609.