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Case Reports
. 2024 Apr 7;16(4):e57783.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.57783. eCollection 2024 Apr.

Lung Cancer Screening: All That Glitters Is Not Gold

Sai Doppalapudi  1 , Sindhaghatta Venkatram  1 , Aam A Baqui  2 , Gilda Diaz-Fuentes  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Lung Cancer Screening: All That Glitters Is Not Gold

Sai Doppalapudi et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) can significantly improve survival rates with early detection. With the increased amount of imaging studies being performed for screening, there are more incidental lesions found. Malignancy and pulmonary infections are two of the major differentials when a lesion is found on CT. Neither a CT scan nor a positron emission tomography can reliably differentiate between malignancy and infectious lesions. Here, we present an unexpected case of multiple nodules detected on LDCT that was performed for lung cancer screening and the workup that was done to lead to a diagnosis.

Keywords: cancer screening; granulomas; low-dose ct; lung cancer; mycobacterium tuberculosis; pet/ct.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. CT scan (axial): right upper 2 spiculated nodules measuring 24 mm and 17.8 mm
Figure 2
Figure 2. PET scan coronal view: right upper lobe nodule with SUVmax 4
PET: positron emission tomography; SUVmax: maximum standardized uptake value
Figure 3
Figure 3. PET scan axial view: right upper lobe nodule with an SUVmax of 4
PET: positron emission tomography; SUVmax: maximum standardized uptake value
Figure 4
Figure 4. Chest X-ray: right upper lobe nodule
Figure 5
Figure 5. Pathology slide: bronchial mucosa with subepithelial chronic inflammation, fibroelastosis, and lung tissue with ill-formed granuloma and multinucleated giant cells
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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