Spontaneous pneumothorax following thoracic irradiation.

Spontaneous pneumothorax has only very rarely been reported to occur following thoracic irradiation. Four patients who developed this complication following radiation therapy are presented and the literature is reviewed. Spontaneous pneumothorax following thoracic irradiation tends to be recurrent, occasionally bilateral, and in most reported cases, occurs in patients who develop roentgenographic evidence of radiation fibrosis after treatment with mantle-shaped portals for Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Re-expansion often occurs without intervention.