Complications in the Oncologic Patient: Chest

With advances in cancer therapy, iatrogenic diseases of the chest are increasingly encountered. They are predominated by those affecting the lungs, which are an important cause of patient morbidity and mortality. In the cancer patient, iatrogenic pulmonary disease could be due to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or stem cell transplantation (SCT). Symptoms are usually nonspecific, with patients presenting with dyspnea, nonproductive cough, and fever. It is the knowledge of the type of treatment, timing of the treatment relating to symptoms, together with the pattern of lung abnormalities on imaging studies, which helps identify the cause of disease. In this chapter, we will review the patterns of these iatrogenic pulmonary diseases, together with the typical host they are encountered in, with the temporal relationship to specific therapies. This knowledge is important as the radiologist may be the first to notice these changes, which at times may be reversible if identified in a timely manner.