Imaging Findings of Early Lung Cancer

Kubo Takeshi

doi:10.2482/haigan.54.854

In the General Rules for Clinical and Pathological Record of Lung Cancer, 7th edition, early lung cancer is defined as squamous carcinoma in the central airway, whereas there is no definition for early lung adenocarcinoma. Noguchi et al. reported that the subset of small adenocarcinoma, i.e. localized bronchioloalveolar carcinoma without active fibroblastic foci, is amenable to therapy, with a 5-year survival of almost 100%. These lesions may be called early lung adenocarcinomas. On lung CT images, such lesions appear as pure ground-glass nodules or partly solid ground-glass nodules, collectively called subsolid nodules (SSNs). For example, the radiological differential diagnosis of SSN should include organizing pneumonia and atypical adenomatous hyperplasia. The rate of incidentally discovered SSN has recently increased due to the wider availability of CT scanners, and the detection of multiple SSNs in a single patient is not rare. The recommendation statement issued by the Fleischner Society in 2013 provides follow-up/treatment strategies for cases of solitary or multiple SSNs. However, these recommendation statements are based largely on expert opinion, rather than the results of clinical studies, due to the lack of solid evidence regarding various important issues in SSN management. Nevertheless, the recommendations are reasonable and readily applicable to clinical practice. This article summarizes these recommendations below.

Imaging Findings of Early Lung Cancer

Bibliographic Information

Search this article

Description

Journal

References(4)*help

Related Projects

Keywords

Details 詳細情報について

Export

Report a problem