High-Resolution Computed Tomography for Detecting Lung Tissue Damage after Radiotherapy of Mammary Carcinoma

In the treatment of breast cancer, damage to pulmonary parenchyma is a well-known side effect of chest-wall irradiation. Radiation-induced changes are usually not visible in plain chest radiographs until 1 month after the end of radiation therapy (RT) [1, 3]. Alterations are rarely seen with doses below 20 Gy; as a rule, they appear if more than 60 Gy are administered [3]. Compared with plain films, computed tomography (CT) demonstrates lung tissue damage with higher accuracy [1]. Lung tissue density changes can be quantified [4, 6].