Pleural Tags on CT Scans to Predict Visceral Pleural Invasion of Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer That Does Not Abut the Pleura

Abstract

Type 2 pleural tags on conventional CT images can increase the accuracy of early diagnosis of visceral pleural invasion by NSCLC that does not abut the pleura.

Novel biologic factors correlated to visceral pleural invasion in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer less than 3 cm

“…Moreover, Ebara et al found that patients with VPI tended to be older than patients without (68.5 vs. 65.9 years; P=0.061) (8). However, other studies did not find any difference of age between patients with VPI and those without (9,10,15,16,20,21). But surprisingly, in our study, older age was found to be a significantly correlated factor of VPI in early-stage NSCLC (OR =2.119, 95% CI: 1.255-3.503; P=0.005) in the multivariate analysis.…”

“…Previous studies have also proved that pleural indentation was an independent predictive factor of VPI in lung cancer (9,10). Because pleural indentation may suggest the existence of a tumor infiltrating the pleural or pleural dissemination, it serves as a sign suggestive of pulmonary malignancy and possible diagnosis of VPI (9,10,21). Therefore, our study added to the evidence that pleural indentation was a significantly correlated factor of VPI in early-stage NSCLC.…”

“…Several other studies have also showed that VPI was found more in lung cancers with larger tumor size (6,10,16). However, Qi et al (9), Nitadori et al (20) and Hsu et al (21) did not found any difference of size between lung cancers with VPI and those without. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, tumor size was not found to be significantly correlated to VPI in our study, which agreed with most of previous studies (8,9).…”

Clinicoradiographic Predictors of Aggressive Biology in Lung Cancer With Ground Glass Components

“…High-resolution CT imaging also offers the opportunity to better visualize changes in the alveolar spaces and interstitium, which conceivably may reveal underlying tumor biology or prognosis. The most apparent of these relationships is the association between pleural tags as seen on CT imaging with visceral pleural invasion by the tumor [23].…”

Convex border of peripheral non-small cell lung cancer on CT images as a potential indicator of pleural invasion

“…Ebara et al [ 7 ] reported that a skirtlike 3-dimensional pleural pattern predicts pleural invasion of peripheral NSCLC with 77% accuracy. Our previous study [ 18 ] further reported that a pleural tag with a soft tissue component at the pleural end on a mediastinal window images predicts visceral pleural invasion of non-abutting NSCLC with 71% accuracy. [ 18 ] Whether visceral pleural invasion is an adverse prognostic indicator in stage I NSCLC patients remains controversial, especially in patients with a small tumor size.…”