The evaluation of CT screening findings for asbestos related thoracic diseases

Asbestos-related diseases have become social problem in Japan. As a result, many applicants who are suspected of having exposure to asbestos undergo CT screening. But there have been few reports of CT screening for asbestos related diseases. Therefore we evaluate the CT screening findings for asbestos related thoracic diseases. CT screening was performed for 100 applicants (88 male and 12 female). 93 of 100 patients have a history of asbestos exposure in occupation. 63 of 100 applicants had pleural plaques detected by CT. The majority of thickness of plaques was less than 3 mm, and were mostly detected in middle lung region and postero-medial region. Bronchogenic adenocarcinoma was detected in one case. (author)