Pulmonary complications of cancer treatment.

Great strides have been made in the treatment of cancer. This success, however, has not come without a price. Pulmonary complications of cancer treatment have proven to be common and often result in significant morbidity. The manifestations of such complications may range from an asymptomatic patient with an abnormal chest, radiograph to one with transient dyspnea to varying degrees of chronic pulmonary insufficiency to an acute lethal event. Each of the major treatment modalities, surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, carries a significant complication rate that often limits its effectiveness. When two or more modalities are used concurrently or sequentially, the risk of complications increases further. The respiratory system, for a number of reasons, has proven to be especially vulnerable to treatment-related complications.