Intrathoracic manifestations of metastatic testicular seminoma: a comparison of chest radiographic and CT findings

The chest radiographs and CT scans of 200 patients with pure testicular seminoma were reviewed. The radiographs showed evidence of intrathoracic metastatic disease in 25 patients (12.5%). Of these, 17 had an abnormal mediastinal contour, seven had pulmonary metastases, five had pleural effusions, and two had discrete pleural masses. CT showed evidence of intrathoracic metastatic disease in 30 patients (15%). This included mediastinal nodal enlargement in 21, pulmonary metastases in 12, pleural effusions in six, and pleural masses in two. CT not only showed disease in five patients with normal chest radiographs, but also showed additional sites of disease in four other patients with abnormal chest radiographs. The results suggest that mediastinal nodal enlargement is the most common intrathoracic manifestation of metastatic testicular seminoma. CT is more accurate than chest radiography in the detection of metastatic seminoma in the chest and defines the extent of metastatic disease more precisely.