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. 2022 Feb 21;19(4):2460.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19042460.

Lung Cancer Imaging: Screening Result and Nodule Management

Susanna Guerrini  1 , Davide Del Roscio  2 , Matteo Zanoni  2 , Paolo Cameli  3 , Elena Bargagli  3 , Luca Volterrani  2 , Maria Antonietta Mazzei  2   4 , Luca Luzzi  5
Affiliations

Lung Cancer Imaging: Screening Result and Nodule Management

Susanna Guerrini et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Lung cancer (LC) represents the main cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, especially because the majority of patients present with an advanced stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis. This systematic review describes the evidence behind screening results and the current guidelines available to manage lung nodules. Methods: This review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The following electronic databases were searched: PubMed, EMBASE, and the Web of Science. Results: Five studies were included in the systematic review. The study cohort included 46,364 patients, and, in this case series, LC was detected in 9028 patients. Among the patients with detected LC, 1261 died of lung cancer, 3153 died of other types of cancers and 4614 died of other causes. Conclusions: This systematic review validates the use of CT in LC screening follow-ups, and bids for future integration and implementation of nodule management protocols to improve LC screening, avoid missed cancers and to reduce the number of unnecessary investigations.

Keywords: MDCT; health education; lung cancer; lung nodule management; lung screening; prevention.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the literature search and study selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a–f) This is an example of a PS pre-malignant nodule (a) with evolution in malignant lesion (a–e), confirmed by PET-CT (f), in accordance with changes in the solid component of the nodule.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a,b) This is an example of a solid nodule (a) suspected for malignant lesion. However, at 1-month follow-up CT examination, it tends to disappear due to its inflammatory nature (b).
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a–d) This is an example of a solid nodule suspected for malignant lesion (a–d). Reconstruction using a high spatial frequency algorithm (bone plus, (a,c,d)) with a thinner acquisition (0.625 mm, axial, (d)), which allows the characterization of this malignant lesion.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a–d). This is an example of a solid nodule, amartocondroma (a,c), with a fast growth (2 years), confirmed with 3D reconstructions (b,d).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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