E-ISSN: 1305-3612
Indeterminate pulmonary subsolid nodules in patients with no history of cancer: growing prediction, CT pattern, and pathological diagnosis
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Chest Imaging - Original Article
VOLUME: 28 ISSUE: 3
P: 230-238
May 2022

Indeterminate pulmonary subsolid nodules in patients with no history of cancer: growing prediction, CT pattern, and pathological diagnosis

Diagn Interv Radiol 2022;28(3):230-238
DOI: 10.5152/dir.2022.211100
Xiaowan Guo 1,2
Xudong Jia 3
Danqing Zhang 2
Hui Feng 1
Yana Dou 4
Gaofeng Shi 1
1. Department of Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance, Hebei Medical University Fourth Affiliated Hospital and Hebei Provincial Tumor Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
2. Department of Radiology, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
3. Departments of Urology, Hebei Medical University No2 Hospital: Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
4. Siemens Healthineers, Beijing, Shanghai, China
No information available.
No information available
Received Date: 03.11.2021
Accepted Date: 26.02.2022
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ABSTRACT

PURPOSE

We aimed to evaluate and compare the growth patterns among pathological types of inde- terminate subsolid nodules in patients without a history of cancer as observed on computed tomography (CT).

METHODS

This retrospective study included 77 consecutive patients with 80 indeterminate subsolid nod- ules on unenhanced thin-section CT. Subsolid nodules were classified into 2 growth pattern groups based on volume: growth (n = 35) and non-growth (n = 42). According to the pathologi- cal diagnosis, subsolid nodules were further subdivided into 3 groups: adenocarcinoma in situ (growth, n = 8 vs. non-growth, n = 22), minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (n = 14 vs. n = 15), and invasive adenocarcinoma (n=13 vs. n=5). Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazards regres- sion analyses were performed to identify the risk factors for subsolid nodules growth. The CT findings of the 35 subsolid nodules in the growth group were compared among the 3 pathologi- cal groups.

RESULTS

In the growth group, the overall mean volume doubling time and mass doubling time (MDT) were 811.5 days and 616.5 days, respectively. Patient’s age (odds ratio=1.041, P=.045) and CT subtype of non-solid nodule and part-solid nodule (odds ratio=3.430, P=.002) could predict subsolid nodule growth. The baseline volume, mass, and mean CT value were larger in the inva- sive adenocarcinoma group than in the adenocarcinoma in situ group (all P < .01). The shortest volume doubling time was observed in the invasive adenocarcinoma group, followed by the minimally invasive adenocarcinoma group and the adenocarcinoma in situ group. A shorter mass doubling time was observed in the minimally invasive adenocarcinoma group than in the adenocarcinoma in situ group (all P < .02).

CONCLUSION

As age increases, the risk of pulmonary subsolid nodule growth increases by 4% each year, and part-solid nodules have a 3 times higher risk of growth compared to non-solid nodules in patients with no history of cancer. Subsolid nodules with more aggressive pathological charac- teristics grow at a faster rate.