Abstract
We reviewed relationship between the radiographic features of the pleural plaque and asbestos lung cancer. Because there is not a consistent opinion about pleural plaques and lung cancer considering some cohort and case-control studies, there is still controversy about whether or not pleural plaques in chest X-rays are a predictor of asbestos lung cancer. Although the usefulness of pleural plaques for screening of lung cancer is controversial, there are many reports that chest computed tomography (CT) imaging is more useful than X-rays in detecting pleural plaques. The presence of pleural plaques in chest CT images does have a tendency to be able to predict asbestos lung cancer.
As other than pleural plaques in chest CT images, some inflammatory and fibrotic abnormalities such as most fibrosis signs (subpleural nodules, septal lines, parenchymal bands, and honeycombing), ground-glass opacities, thickened bronchial walls, pleural plaque extent, and adherences may be able to be predictors of asbestos-related lung cancer.
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Morimoto, Y., Nishida, C., Tomonaga, T., Izumi, H. (2021). Pleural Plaques as a Predictive Imaging Marker for Cancer Screening in Asbestos-Exposed Subjects: Can Pleural Plaques Be a Tool beyond Estimating Past Asbestos Inhalation?. In: Nakano, T., Kijima, T. (eds) Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. Respiratory Disease Series: Diagnostic Tools and Disease Managements. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9158-7_6
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