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R. Vliegenthart



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    PL03 - Presidential Symposium Including Top Rated Abstracts (ID 85)

    • Event: WCLC 2013
    • Type: Plenary Session
    • Track:
    • Presentations: 1
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      PL03.01 - Lung cancer probability in subjects with CT-detected pulmonary nodules (ID 1578)

      08:15 - 09:45  |  Author(s): R. Vliegenthart

      • Abstract
      • Slides

      Background
      The main challenge in computed tomography (CT) screening for lung cancer is the high prevalence of pulmonary nodules and the relatively low incidence of lung cancer. Thresholds for nodule size and growth rate, which determine which nodules require additional diagnostic procedures, should be based on the lung cancer probability of the individual.

      Methods
      Diameter, volume and volume-doubling time (VDT) of 9,681 non-calcified nodules detected by CT screening in 7,155 subjects were used to quantify lung cancer probability. Complete coverage on all lung cancer diagnoses was obtained by linkages with the national cancer registry. The nodule management algorithm recommended by the ACCP was evaluated and an improved algorithm, based on lung cancer probability, was proposed.

      Results
      Lung cancer probability was low in subjects with a nodule volume <100mm³ (≤0.7%) or maximum transverse diameter <5mm (≤0.6%) Moreover, probability in these subjects was not significantly different from that in subjects without nodules (0.4%). Lung cancer probability was 0.9-5.8% for nodules with a volume 100-300mm³ or a diameter 5-10mm; the VDT further stratified the probability: 0.0-0.9% for VDTs>600days, 4.0% for VDTs 400-600days and 6.7-25.0% for VDTs<400days. Lung cancer probability was high for participants with nodule volumes ≥300mm³ (8.9-26.1%) or diameters ≥10mm (11.1-26.2%), even with long VDTs. Finally, raising the thresholds for nodule size recommended by the ACCP for an indeterminate result from 4mm to 5mm and for a positive result from 8mm to 10mm, would yield fewer follow-up CT examinations (from 29.8% to 22.2%) and fewer additional diagnostic procedures (from 8.9% to 5.3%) while maintaining the sensitivity at 94.2%.

      Conclusion
      Small nodules (volume <100mm³ or diameter <5mm) are not predictive for lung cancer. Immediate diagnostic evaluation is necessary for subjects with large nodules (volume ≥300mm³ or diameter ≥10mm) and only for subjects with nodules of intermediate size is VDT assessment advocated.

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