Chest radiographs, full lung tomography and computed tomography of the chest provide increasing sensitivity for evaluation of pulmonary metastases. Pulmonary nodules of 5-10 mm diameter are detectable with increasing frequency by use of high kilovoltage chest radiographs. Full lung linear tomography provides an overall accuracy of 72-97% in diagnosis of pulmonary nodules. Chest CT delineates pulmonary nodules as small as 3 mm within 10 mm slice sections. However, as sensitivity increases, specificity diminishes in identifying metastatic nodules. Sensitivity in CT is also reduced by false negative findings due to unequal respiratory cycles. Comparative radiologic-pathologic evaluation of nodule detection proved CT to be the most sensitive screening method for pulmonary metastases. Timing of follow-up studies for pulmonary nodule detection in cancer patients can be determined by tumor growth kinetics; 3-6 month intervals proved to be useful.

Aggressive fibromatoses are locally invasive, non-metastasising, fibroblastic soft-tissue tumours. On the basis of examinations made in 6 patients with histologically confirmed diagnosis, the reliability of different imaging modalities in preoperative diagnosis and in follow-up is discussed. The inhomogeneous tumour composition was evident in all imaging procedures. Computed tomography offered the highest sensitivity for tumour detection and proved accurate in demonstrating the characteristic radial tumour spreading of mesenteric aggressive fibromatosis; the attenuation values ranged from 18 to 58 HU. in pre-contrast CT scans. In magnetic resonance imaging the tumours mostly produced a low signal in T1- and T2-weighted sequences; the calculated T2-relaxation times ranged from 97 to 186 ms.

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