Peripheral carcinoid tumor of the lung: CT diagnosis.

The CT appearance of bronchial carcinoid tumors has been well described [1 -6]. Because the majority of these tumors are central-in the trachea or the main, lobar, or proximal segmental bronchi-they are thought to be ideally situated for detection by CT [1 , 2, 4]. In fact, to our knowledge, in all previous descriptions of carcinoid tumors examined by CT, endobronchial lesions have been located in the proximal bronchial tree. In this report, we present a case of peripheral carcinoid tumor for which an endobronchial component within a subsegmental bronchus was visualized on thin-section CT. This finding, together with significant contrast enhancement of the mass on a subsequent dynamic scan, provided a clue to the appropriate diagnosis.