Keywords:
Lung, Management, Thorax, CT, PACS, Computer Applications-General, Statistics, Cancer, Epidemiology
Authors:
W. Hendrix1, N. Hendrix1, M. Prokop1, E. Scholten1, B. Van Ginneken1, M. Rutten2, C. Jacobs1; 1Nijmegen/NL, 2's-Hertogenbosch/NL
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2021/C-11494
Purpose
Lung cancer is worldwide the leading cause of cancer-related death for both males and females [1]. When lung cancer is diagnosed, the disease is often already in an advanced stage. As a result, the 5-year survival rate for lung cancer is only 15% [2]. Results from multiple randomized controlled trials for lung cancer screening are strong evidence that annual low-dose chest computed tomography (CT) in high-risk individuals is a promising strategy to detect lung cancer in an early stage, thereby reducing lung cancer mortality [3, 4]. Accurate and standardized interpretation of screening CT scans, which includes the detection and characterization of pulmonary nodules (see Figure 1), is an important component of a successful screening program.
The outcomes of lung cancer screening trials underline the importance of detection and management of pulmonary nodules in clinical practice. Based on the data from the trials, societies such as the British Thoracic Society [5] and Fleischer Society [6] have established evidence-based guidelines for the management of incidental pulmonary nodules detected on routine chest CT scans.
However, there is still little information available about the incidence of pulmonary nodules on chest CT outside a screening setting. Most studies on this topic are limited by small samples from a single center. Gould et al. [7] performed a large epidemiological study of incidental pulmonary nodules in Southern California, but there are no European studies to date with a similar approach. Therefore, the aim of this study is to study trends in the incidence of reported pulmonary nodules in chest CT in two large Dutch hospitals since 2008.