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Updated: Jul 29, 2025
Author Spotlight: A 3D Digital Model for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pulmonary Nodules
Published on: May 19, 2023
Software-based quantitative CT analysis to predict the growth trend of persistent nonsolid pulmonary nodules: a
Andrea Borghesi1, Felice Leopoldo Coviello2, Alessandra Scrimieri2
1Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, Piazzale Spedali Civili, 1, 25123, Brescia, Italy. andrea.borghesi@unibs.it.
Purpose:
Persistent nonsolid nodules (NSNs) usually exhibit an indolent course and may remain stable for several years; however, some NSNs grow quickly and require surgical excision. Therefore, identifying quantitative features capable of early discrimination between growing and nongrowing NSNs is becoming a crucial aspect of radiological analysis. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of an open-source software (ImageJ) to predict the future growth of NSNs detected in a Caucasian (Italian) population.
Material And Methods:
We retrospectively selected 60 NSNs with an axial diameter of 6-30 mm scanned with the same acquisition-reconstruction parameters and the same computed tomography (CT) scanner. Software-based analysis was performed on thin-section CT images using ImageJ. For each NSNs, several quantitative features were extracted from the baseline CT images. The relationships of NSN growth with quantitative CT features and other categorical variables were analyzed using univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses.
Results:
In multivariable analysis, only the skewness and linear mass density (LMD) were significantly associated with NSN growth, and the skewness was the strongest predictor of growth. In receiver operating characteristic curve analyses, the optimal cutoff values of skewness and LMD were 0.90 and 19.16 mg/mm, respectively. The two predictive models that included the skewness, with or without LMD, exhibited an excellent power for predicting NSN growth.
Conclusion:
According to our results, NSNs with a skewness value > 0.90, specifically those with a LMD > 19.16 mg/mm, should require closer follow-up due to their higher growth potential, and higher risk of becoming an active cancer.
