Cannonball metastases (lungs)

Last revised by Frank Gaillard on 28 May 2023

Cannonball metastases refer to multiple large, well-circumscribed, round pulmonary metastases that appear not unsurprisingly like cannonballs. The French terms "envolée de ballons" and "lâcher de ballons",  which translate to "balloons release", are also used to describe this same appearance.

Metastases with such an appearance are classically secondary to 1,2:

Or less common primary tumors:

Differential diagnosis

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