Increasing evidence suggests that there is a close relationship between pulmonary ground-glass opacity (GGO) and early-stage lung cancer, especially bronchial alveolar carcinoma in the early stage. With the use of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), more and more GGO patients have been identified. Correct diagnosis and surgical indications should be determined according to the image characteristics including proportion and size of GGO in a pulmonary nodule as well as intraoperative quick pathological examination to avoid unnecessary surgical resection. Therefore, early detection and correct diagnosis of GGO are very important to improve patient prognosis.
Lung ground glass opacity (GGO), which is associated with the pathology of the lung adenocarcinoma, is drawing more and more attention with the increased detection rate. However, it is still in the research stage for the imaging interpretation of GGO lesions. In this paper, we reviewed and analyzed the new classification of lung adenocarcinoma corresponding to the interpretation of GGO imaging feature, which emphasizes on how to determine the GGO lesions comprehensively and quantitative determination of the invasive extent of GGO.
ObjectiveTo explore the diagnostic value of CT-guided percutaneous needle aspiration biopsy (PTNB) for ground-glass opacity (GGO) pulmonary lesions. MethodsA retrospective design was used to collect clinical data of patients with GGO lesions admitted in the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College between Jan. 2009 to Jan 2015. Patients were divided into groups according the lesion size (≤10 mm, 10-20 mm,≥20 mm), length of needle path (≤5 cm, 5-9 cm,≥9 cm) and percentage of GGO component (50%-90%, >90%), respectively. The total and subgroups of sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of CT guided PTNB for diagnosing GGO were calculated and the differences among subgroups were compared using Fisher's exact test. Statistical analysis was conducted by using SPSS 17.0 software. ResultsA total of 60 patients involving 48 malignant and 12 benign lesions were included. The total sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of CT guided PTNB for diagnosing GGO were 87.5%, 100% and 90%, respectively. There were no significant differences among the subgroups based on the lesion size, length of needle path, and percentage of GGO component (all P values >0.05). ConclusionCT-guided PTNB can be used as one of the diagnostic modalities for lung GGO lesions with a moderate diagnostic value.
ObjectiveTo explore the differential diagnosis value of subpleural bandlike ground-glass opacity (GGO) in thoracic CT in paraquat poisoning pneumonia. MethodsA retrospective study was carried out by retrieving the patients CT database from March 2013 to March 2015. The patients with paraquat poisoning pneumonia, interstitial pneumonia and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) were recruited and their radiological characteristics of thoracic CT were analyzed. ResultsA total of 698 newly diagnosed interstitial pneumonia patients were finally enrolled in this study, 392 of them (56.2%) presented with GGO in thoracic CT. A total of 38 newly diagnosed PAP patients and 14 paraquat poisoning patients were enrolled, and GGO presented in thoracic CT of 100.0% and 42.9% of them respectively. Subpleural bandlike GGO was mostly commonly found in 83.3% of the paraquat poisoning pneumonia patients with GGO in thoracic CT, followed by 18.4% of the PAP patiens and 5.6% of the interstitial pneumonia patients with GGO in thoracic CT, which were significantly lower than that in the paraquat poisoning pneumonia patients (P < 05). GGO associated crazy paving pattern in thoracic CT was mostly commonly found in 94.7% of the PAP patients, followed by 0.5% of the interstitial pneumonia patients and none of the paraquat poisoning pneumonia patients. All the PAP patients with subpleural bandlike GGO were found associated with crazy paving pattern, while none of such association was found in the interstitial pneumonia or the paraquat poisoning pnuemonia patients. GGO coexisting with honeycombing and subpleural line were respectively found in 22.7% and 11.2% of the interstitial pneumonia patients, and none of such association was found in the PAP or the paraquat poisoning pneumonia patients. ConclusionsSubpleural bandlike GGO is mostly commonly found in paraquat poisoning pneumonia patients and rarely in PAP and interstitial pneumonia patients. Combined with crazy paving pattern and subpleural line, subpleural bandlike GGO may be a valuable feature in the diagnosis of paraquat poisoning pneumonia patients.
With the development of technology, the detection rate of ground-glass opacity (GGO) is rapidly increasing. GGO comprises of pure GGO and mixed GGO. Many researches have studied the characteristics of GGO, and they found that different malignant probability of GGO was associated with different image characteristics. It is obvious that there is a close relationship between the image characteristics of GGO and its prognosis. However, due to the various image characteristics of GGO, it is essential to assess the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma patients in a more comprehensive way. In this review, we summarize the correlation between the main GGO image features (solid proportion, size, mean CT value, shape characteristics) and the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma patients, to provide clinical reference for prognosis prediction and decision-making for patients with lung adenocarcinoma.
ObjectiveTo summarize the clinical experience of surgical resection of synchronous multiple ground-glass nodules (SMGN), and explore the individualized diagnosis and treatment strategy of SMGN.MethodsClinical data of 84 patients with SMGN who underwent thoracic surgery in Anhui Chest Hospital from July 2016 to August 2018 were analyzed retrospectively, including 18 males (21.4%) and 66 females (78.6%), aged 32-80 (55.6±10.3) years. The results of operation and the information of GGNs were analyzed.ResultsExcept for 1 patient who was converted to thoracotomy due to extensive dense adhesion of thoracic, other patients underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery successfully. All patients recuperated successfully after operation, without severe perioperative complications or death. Finally, 79 patients were diagnosed as malignant tumors (94.0%), and 5 patients of benign lesions (6.0%). A total of 240 GGNs were removed, among which there were 168 pGGNs, including 68 benign lesions (40.5%) and 100 malignant tumors (59.5%), and 72 mGGNs, including 2 benign nodules (2.8%) and 70 malignant tumors (97.2%). Nodules diameter (P<0.001), consolidation/maximum diameter of nodule ratio (P<0.001), vacuole sign (P<0.001), air bronchograms sign (P=0.001), spine-like process (P=0.001), pleural indentation sign (P<0.001), lobulation sign (P<0.001), and vascular convergence (P=0.002) were correlated with malignant tumor.ConclusionAnalysis of the imaging features of GGNs by thin-section CT scan and three-dimensional reconstruction is of great value in predicting the benign and malignant nodules, which can guide the surgical decision-making and preoperative planning. Through reasonable preoperative planning and following certain principles, simultaneous surgical treatment for SMGN is safe and feasible.
Along with the popularity of low-dose computed tomography lung cancer screening, an increasing number of lung ground-glass opacity (GGO) lesions are detected. The pathology of GGO could be benign, but persistent GGO indicates early-stage lung cancer. Distinct from traditional lung cancer, GGO-featured lung cancer is more common in the young, nonsmokers and females. GGO-featured lung cancer represents an indolent type of malignancy with a long time to intervene. However, there is still no consensus on the screening, pathology, surgical procedure, and postoperative surveillance of GGO-featured lung cancer. Therefore, we proposed a personalized treatment strategy for GGO-featured lung cancer. The screening for GGO-featured lung cancer should be conducted at young age and low frequency. Adenocarcinoma in situ, minimally invasive adenocarcinoma, lepidic, and non-lepidic growth patterns could present as GGO. The following issues should be taken into consideration while determining the treatment of GGO-featured lung cancer: avoiding treating benign disease as malignancies, avoiding treating early-stage disease as advanced-stage disease, avoiding treating indolent malignancy as aggressive malignancy, and choosing appropriate timing to receive surgery without affecting life tracks and career developments. Bronchoscope and bone scan are not necessary for preoperative examinations of GGO-featured lung adenocarcinoma. For selected patients, sublobar resection without mediastinal lymph node dissection might be sufficient. Intraoperative frozen section is an effective method to guide resection strategy. Given the excellent survival of GGO-featured lung cancer, a less intensive postoperative surveillance strategy may be sufficient.