Abstract:
Objective To explore the clinical application value of high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) features to differentiate pulmonary minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) from invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) lesions appearing as non-solid nodules (NSNs).
Methods A total of 187 patients (66 males and 121 females; aged 19–81 (54.8±12.2) years) with surgically and pathologically confirmed lung adenocarcinomas appearing as NSNs in HRCT images between February 2017 and April 2019 from the Affiliated Jiangmen Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University were analyzed retrospectively. All patients were divided into MIA groups and IAC groups. The clinical characteristics of patients, including gender and age, were recorded. The HRCT features of NSNs, including nodule location, attenuation, size, sharpness, lobulated sign, spiculated sign, bubble lucency, air bronchogram sign, pleural traction, and para-nodule emphysema were reviewed and analyzed. The distribution difference of the clinical characteristics and HRCT features of NSNs was compared using univariate analysis between the MIA and IAC groups. Qualitative factors were analyzed using independent sample t-test or Mann-Whitney U test, whereas quantitative variables were analyzed using the χ2-test or Fisher exact test, as appropriate. The parameters with statistically significant difference were used for Logistic regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed, and sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were calculated.
Results A total of 90 cases (25 males and 65 females; aged 25–76 (50.67±12.03) years) in the MIA group and 97 cases (41 males and 56 females; aged 19–81 (58.57±11.11) years) in the IAC group were identified. Significant statistical differences were observed in gender, age, nodule size, attenuation, sharpness, lobulated sign, spiculated sign, bubble lucency, air bronchogram sign, and pleural traction sign between the MIA and IAC groups ( χ2=4.292, P=0.038; Z=−4.577, P=0.000; Z=−8.467, P=0.000; t=−5.214, P=0.000; χ2=31.547, P=0.000; χ2=27.105, P=0.000; χ2=5.604, P=0.018; χ2=7.316, P=0.007; χ2=5.576, P=0.018; and χ2=4.989, P=0.026), respectively. Nodule size and attenuation were the independent risk factors for prediction of invasiveness degree of NSA, with odd ratio values of 1.428 (95% CI: 1.264–1.614; P=0.000) and 1.004 (95% CI: 1.001–1.008; P=0.006), respectively. The optimal cutoff value for nodule size and attenuation were 10.0 mm and −490 HU in the ROC curve analysis, with area under curve (AUC) values of 0.859 and 0.714, while the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 75.3%, 83.3%, 79.1% and 56.7%, 77.8%, 66.8%, respectively. The combined model incorporated by nodule size and attenuation showed an AUC value of 0.867 and sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 78.9%, 82.5%, 80.2%, respectively.
Conclusions HRCT features may be useful in distinguishing the invasiveness degree of pulmonary adenocarcinoma lesions manifested as NSNs. Nodule size and attenuation were the independent risk factors for the prediction of the invasiveness degree of pulmonary adenocarcinoma.