Quantification of Perinodular Emphysema in High-risk Patients Offers No Benefit in Lung Nodule Risk-Stratification of Malignancy Potential

Abstract

Purpose: Pulmonary nodules, found either incidentally or on lung cancer screening, are common. Evaluating the benign or malignant nature of these nodules is costly in terms of patient risk and expense. The presence of both global and regional emphysema has been linked to increased lung cancer risk. We sought to determine whether the measurement of emphysema directly adjacent to a lung nodule could inform the likelihood of a nodule being malignant. Materials and Methods: Within a population of Veterans at high risk for lung cancer, 58 subjects with malignant nodules found on computerized tomographic chest scans were matched by lobe and nodule size to 58 controls. Lung densitometry was measured via determination of the low attenuation area percentage at −950 Hounsfield units (LAA950) and the Hounsfield unit (HU) value at which 15% of lung voxels have a lower lung density (Perc15), at predefined lung volumes that encompassed the nodule to evaluate both perinodular and regional lung fields. The association between measured lung density and malignancy was investigated using conditional logistic regression models, with densitometry measurements used as the primary predictor, adjusting for age alone, or age and computerized tomographic scan characteristics. Results: No significant differences in emphysema measurements between malignant and benign nodules were identified at lung volumes encompassing both perinodular and regional emphysema. Furthermore, emphysema quantification remained stable across lung volumes within individuals. Conclusions: In this study, quantifying the degree of perinodular or regional emphysema did not offer any benefit in the risk stratification of lung nodules.

Multivariate Analysis on Development of Lung Adenocarcinoma Lesion from Solitary Pulmonary Nodule

“…By conducting univariate analysis of patients' general information (age, course of disease, BMI, nodule diameter, and gender), smoking status (smoking history and number of cigarettes smoked per year), medical history (family history of lung cancer, history of extrapulmonary malignant tumor, and history of autoimmune diseases), basic complications (hypertension and diabetes), and laboratory examinations (CEA, NSE, CYFRA21-1, SCC-Ag, and CA125), it was concluded that age, course of disease, nodule diameter, CEA positive, CYFRA21-1 positive, and CA125 positive were significantly different between the two groups ( P < 0.05); and the logistic regression results showed that high age, increased nodule diameter, and CYFRA21-1 positive were the independent risk factors for developing lung adenocarcinoma from SPN ( P < 0.05). Related studies [ 22 , 23 ] confirmed that the risk of malignancy will be increased in SPN patients at an advanced age, and the prediction model by William H. Amundson [ 24 ] et al showed that more than 50% of patients with pulmonary nodules over the age of 60 years were confirmed as malignant lesions, whereas only 3% of patients under the age of 40 years had malignancy. Moreover, many references mentioned that smoking is the most common risk factor for lung cancer, and its exposure intensity and duration are proportional to the risk of lesions.…”