American Journal of Roentgenology, Vol 173, 1631-1638, Copyright © 1999 by American Roentgen Ray Society
Thoracic manifestations of neurofibromatosis-I
SE Rossi, JJ Erasmus, HP McAdams and LF Donnelly
Department of Radiology, Hospital de Clinicas Jose de San Martin, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The intrathoracic manifestations of neurofibromatosis-I are protean and
can, on occasion, mimic those of malignancy. Many of the intrathoracic
findings are characteristic of the disease and can be expected to be
present. Knowledge of the full spectrum of radiologic findings can thus be
useful in preventing diagnostic error. Furthermore, an unexpected finding,
such as rapid growth of a neural tumor, should be recognized as an atypical
feature (suspicious for malignant degeneration) and result in further
evaluation.