Study of cavernous lung lesions with malignant features

Abstract

Introduction: Many different diseases present as cavitary pulmonary nodules. The spectrum of diseases ranges from acute to chronic infections, chronic systemic diseases, and malignancies. To decide on the most likely or correct diagnosis may be challenging. Knowledge of common and uncommon radiological findings in correlation with relevant clinical history and findings is necessary to make the right diagnosis and recommend the correct follow-up or step forward. The aim of this pictorial review is to present a brief overview of CT findings of common cavitary lung diseases seen in adult patients. Methods and materials: Radiologically diagnosed lesions were reviewed and studied as pulmonary lesions in the pulmonary parenchyma. 232 malignant cavernous lesions were detected by referring to patient files, patient records and radiological archives at Damascus Hospital from 2020 to 2024. Results: The percentage of males was 55% and the percentage of females was 45%, ages over 40 years were 58% and under 40 years were 42%. On the chest image, a thickness of the cavern wall was found to be more than 3 cm (35%), and a thickness of more than 5 mm (65%), irregular edges on one side of the cavern 25%, and irregular edges on both sides 75%, calcification was found in 3%, and suspicion of its cancer was desquamative (35%). Conclusion: Do not neglect any pulmonary cavern, because it may be a pulmonary neoplasm, and the best solution to diagnose pulmonary caverns is to perform positron emission tomography (PET-CT).