Radiology, Vol 144, 453-460, Copyright © 1982 by Radiological Society of North America
A comparative study of mesothelioma and asbestosis using computed tomography and conventional chest radiography
JG Rabinowitz, SC Efremidis, B Cohen, S Dan, A Efremidis, AP Chahinian and AS Teirstein
A comparative study using computed tomography and conventional
posteroanterior radiography was performed on 27 patients with mesothelioma
and 13 patients with advanced asbestosis. The major pathologic features of
both asbestosis and mesothelioma were well demonstrated by both modalities;
computed tomography demonstrated the findings more frequently and in
greater detail. No distinguishing features could be established based on
configuration and size of the lesion. Many pleural plaques associated with
advanced asbestosis were large and irregular and resembled those associated
with mesothelioma. However, nodular involvement of the pleural fissures,
pleural effusion, and ipsilateral volume loss with a fixed mediastinum were
features predominating in mesothelioma. Growth determination of the plaques
associated with asbestosis may be of minimal value since such plaques also
undergo growth due to active inflammatory changes.
