Computer Assisted Nodule Analysis and Risk Yield is Associated With Occult Lymph Node Status in Clinical Stage I-IIA...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiology
• Pathology

Background:

• Current staging methods for lung adenocarcinoma may not detect all occult lymph node (OLN) disease.
• Accurate assessment of OLN status is crucial for treatment planning in early-stage lung cancer.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of Computer Assisted Nodule Analysis and Risk Yield (CANARY) analysis in distinguishing OLN status.
• To determine if CANARY risk profiles can predict the presence of OLN metastases in early-stage lung adenocarcinoma.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 228 patients with surgically resected clinical stage I-IIA lung adenocarcinoma (2016-2021).
• Preoperative imaging analyzed by CANARY software, categorizing lesions into good, intermediate, and poor risk.
• Correlation of CANARY risk profiles with OLN status determined by pathology.
• Statistical analysis using Pearson's Chi-square and logistic regression models (α=0.05).

Main Results:

• 28 (12.3%) patients had OLN metastases.
• A significant association was found between CANARY risk profile and OLN metastases (χ2 = 9.9, P = .007).
• Patients with a poor CANARY risk profile had a >3-fold increased likelihood of OLN metastases (OR = 3.3, 95% CI: 1.6-9.2, P = .007) compared to good/intermediate risk groups.

Conclusions:

• CANARY analysis effectively risk-stratifies the likelihood of OLN metastases in early-stage lung adenocarcinoma.
• CANARY serves as a valuable non-invasive tool to aid in personalized treatment planning for lung cancer patients.