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Updated: Feb 28, 2026
Author Spotlight: A 3D Digital Model for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pulmonary Nodules
Published on: May 19, 2023
Three-dimensional substructure measurements for the differential diagnosis of ground glass nodules
Mingzheng Peng1, Gang Yu2, Chengzhong Zhang3
1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orthopaedic Implant, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School Of Medicine, Room 703, No. 3 Building, 693 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China.
Background:
We analyzed the differences between maximum and peak computed tomography (CT) numbers (M-P), respectively representing the densities of the solid center and the main periphery of ground-glass nodules (GGNs), and the average change in M-P velocity (V(M-P)) during follow-up to differentiate between pre-invasive (PIA) and invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC).
Methods:
Data of 102 patients were retrospectively collected and analyzed in our study including 43 PIAs and 59 IACs. Diameters, total volumes, and the maximum and peak CT numbers in CT number histograms were measured and followed for at least 3 months. This study was registered retrospectively.
Results:
The M-P values for IACs were higher than those for PIAs (p = 0.001), with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.810 and a threshold of 489.5 Hounsfield units (HU) in ROC analysis. The V(M-P) values for IACs were smaller than those for PIAs (p = 0.04), with an AUC of 0.805 and a threshold of 11.01 HU/day.
Conclusions:
M-P and V(M-P) values may help distinguish IACs from PIAs by representing the changes in the sub-structural densities of GGNs during follow-up.
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