Clinical, pathological and thin-section CT features of persistent multiple ground-glass opacity nodules: Comparison with solitary ground-glass opacity nodule

Kim, Tae Jung; Goo, Jin Mo; Lee, Kyung Won; Park, Chang Min; Lee, Hyun Ju

doi:10.1016/j.lungcan.2008.08.002

« Previous Next »Lung Cancer
Volume 64, Issue 2 , Pages 171-178, May 2009

Clinical, pathological and thin-section CT features of persistent multiple ground-glass opacity nodules: Comparison with solitary ground-glass opacity nodule

Tae Jung Kim
- Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, 300 Gumi-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do 463-707, Republic of Korea
Jin Mo Goo
- Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, and Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Corresponding author at: Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehangno, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-744, Republic of Korea. Tel.: +82 2 2072 2624; fax: +82 2 743 7418.
Kyung Won Lee
- Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, 300 Gumi-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do 463-707, Republic of Korea
Chang Min Park
- Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, and Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Hyun Ju Lee
- Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, and Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Received 9 June 2008; received in revised form 27 July 2008; accepted 2 August 2008. published online 17 September 2008.

Summary

Purpose

: To retrospectively compare the clinical, pathological, and thin-section CT features of persistent multiple ground-glass opacity (GGO) nodules with those of solitary GGO nodules.

Materials and methods

Histopathologic specimens were obtained from 193 GGO nodules in 136 patients (87 women, 49 men; mean age, 57; age range 33–81). The clinical data, pathologic findings, and thin-section CT features of multiple and solitary GGO nodules were compared by using t-test or Fisher's exact test.

Results

Multiple GGO nodules (n=105) included atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH) (n=31), bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) (n=33), adenocarcinoma (n=34) and focal interstitial fibrosis (n=7). Solitary GGO nodules included AAH (n=8), BAC (n=15), adenocarcinoma (n=55) and focal interstitial fibrosis (n=10). AAH (P=.001) and BAC (P=.029) were more frequent in multiple GGO nodules, whereas adenocarcinoma (P<.001) was more frequent in solitary GGO nodules. Female sex (P<.001), nonsmoker (P=.012) and multiple primary lung cancers (P<.001) were more frequent for multiple GGO nodules, which were smaller (12mm±7.9) than solitary GGO nodules (17mm±8.1) (P<.001). Air-bronchogram (P=.019), bubble-lucency (P=.004), and pleural retraction (P<.001) were more frequent in solitary GGO nodules. There was no postoperative recurrence except for one patient with multiple GGO nodules and one with solitary GGO nodule.

Conclusion

Clinical, pathological, and thin-section CT features of persistent multiple GGO nodules were found to differ from those of solitary GGO nodules. Nevertheless, the two nodule types can probably be followed up and managed in a similar manner because their prognoses were found to be similar.

Keywords: Ground-glass opacity, Multiple, Clinical, Pathological, Thin-section CT