Differentiation Between Heterogeneous GGN and Part-Solid Nodule Using 2 D Grayscale Histogram Analysis of...

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Pulmonary Medicine
• Oncology

Background:

• Pulmonary adenocarcinoma presents as heterogeneous ground-glass nodules (HGGNs) or part-solid nodules (PSNs).
• Distinguishing between HGGNs and PSNs, and between invasive adenocarcinoma (IVA) and less advanced stages (MIA+AIS), is crucial for treatment planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate surgically resected pulmonary adenocarcinomas with HGGNs and PSNs.
• To clarify differences between HGGNs and PSNs using quantitative CT analysis.
• To differentiate between IVA and MIA+AIS using grayscale histogram analysis.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 241 pulmonary adenocarcinoma cases.
• Classification of nodules into HGGNs and PSNs by three thoracic radiologists.
• Application of grayscale histogram analysis on thin-section computed tomography (TSCT) images.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in various histogram parameters (area, solid component size, CT values, texture features) were found between HGGNs and PSNs.
• Histograms also revealed significant differences between IVA and MIA+AIS within both HGGN and PSN groups.
• Quantitative CT analysis demonstrated clear distinctions based on nodule type and pathological invasiveness.

Conclusions:

• Grayscale histogram analysis is effective in distinguishing between HGGNs and PSNs.
• This quantitative approach may assist in estimating the pathological invasiveness of pulmonary adenocarcinoma nodules.
• TSCT histogram analysis offers valuable insights for differentiating pulmonary adenocarcinoma subtypes.