Nadia D'Andrea's scientific contributions

Computed tomography (CT) is probably the most valuable and widely applied imaging procedure for the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. The growing familiarity and expertise gained by diagnostic radiologists with this technology as well as the recent advances in CT techniques have greatly impacted on patient management. The helical low-dose CT or spiral CT (HLDCT) appears to be more sensitive and specific for early lung cancer diagnosis than prior investigative tools. Although many trials have shown the effectiveness of spiral CT in detecting lung cancer in early stages, its potential benefits in mass screening for prevention of death due to lung cancer remain to be proven. Currently there is no official recommendation to screen for lung cancer even in high-risk populations. This brief review examines the problems presented by lung cancer screening, and the results of past and recent studies.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by an insidious and progressive course, and it represents a major health, economic, and social problem. COPD prevalence is greatly underestimated because the disease usually remains undiagnosed until symptomatic airflow obstruction is clinically apparent. Spirometry is fundamental for the diagnosis of COPD because it allows to achieve an accurate diagnosis and also meets all the criteria for early detection of the disease. However, despite the current good price, size, and quality of office spirometers, only a small portion of general practitioners (GPs) regularly use these instruments. There is numerous evidence confirming that well trained GPs can perform good quality spirometries and correctly interpret them. Office spirometry may increase the rate of COPD diagnosis and also impact favourably on the clinical decision making in primary care.