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Postmortem computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in a case of terminal-stage small cell lung cancer: an experience of autopsy imaging in tumor-related death

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Abstract

We report a case of terminal-stage small-cell lung cancer with multiple metastases in which postmortem computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (collectively called “autopsy imaging”) were performed and correlated with conventional autopsy findings. In this case, autopsy imaging provided contemporaneous data that supported conventional autopsy findings. Autopsy imaging revealed the process of primary tumor growth, changes in metastatic lesions, and occurrences of new metastases in the terminal stage and made it easier to understand the clinical course of the patient. The usefulness of autopsy imaging after traumatic death, sudden death from natural causes, or congenital anomaly has been reported. Here, we attempted a preliminary study of its use in the detection of death due to tumor. Our results indicated that autopsy imaging provides useful information in cancer-related death and may be an alternative when conventional autopsy cannot be performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Internal Medicine, Tsukuba Medical Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Go Ikeda, Ryoo Yamamoto & Masatsune Suzuki

  2. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tsukuba Medical Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Hiroichi Ishikawa

  3. Department of Pathology, Tsukuba Medical Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Kazunori Kikuchi

  4. Department of Radiology, Tsukuba Medical Center, 1-3-1 Amakubo, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8558, Japan

    Seiji Shiotani

Authors
  1. Go Ikeda
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  2. Ryoo Yamamoto
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  3. Masatsune Suzuki
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  4. Hiroichi Ishikawa
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  5. Kazunori Kikuchi
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  6. Seiji Shiotani
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seiji Shiotani.

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Ikeda, G., Yamamoto, R., Suzuki, M. et al. Postmortem computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in a case of terminal-stage small cell lung cancer: an experience of autopsy imaging in tumor-related death. Radiat Med 25, 84–87 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-006-0104-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-006-0104-4

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