Keywords:
Performed at one institution, Experimental, Retrospective, Cancer, Technical aspects, CT, Respiratory system, Chest
Authors:
I. Blokhin, V. Gombolevskiy, O. Minkina, V. Chernina, A. Nikolaev, A. P. Gonchar, S. Morozov; Moscow/RU
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2020/C-11458
Purpose
Low-dose computed tomography is a scientifically grounded method for the reduction of mortality from lung cancer [1, 2]. However, several studies have shown the variability of the lung nodule size, expressed through mean diameter and volume, in computed tomography [3]. Some authors suggested a correlation between volume change, nodule location, and the heart cycle phase [4], while others noted the effect of lung tissue volume, i.e., respiratory cycle phase [5]. Thus, changes in the volume of the lung nodule under the influence of breathing and heartbeat may introduce measurement errors and lead to false-positive results. Moreover, when using the updated Lung-RADS criteria (2019), the volumetric growth threshold is only 2 cubic millimeters [6]. The seeming variability in gross tumor volume was also noted in studies on radiotherapy planning [7]. In 2017, Devaraj et al. concluded that from limited data that the impact of lung volume on nodule volume reproducibility is unpredictable [8].
Therefore, the study objective was to evaluate variability in the volumetry of solid pulmonary nodules detected with ultra-low dose computed tomography (ULDCT) as a part of the Moscow Lung Cancer Screening trial.