[CT-pathologic correlation for the alveolar extension of pulmonary adenocarcinoma]

Alveolar extension of pulmonary adenocarcinoma is characteristically demonstrated as an area of ground-glass attenuation (GGA). We correlated the CT attenuation value of GGA with the aeration rate of the pathologic specimen measured with a high-resolution image analyzer (OLYMPUS). The CT values of GGA seen in fourteen adeno-carcinomas were measured for helical (slice thickness 10mm) and thin slice CT (slice thickness 1 or 2mm). A positive correlation was found between the CT attenuation value and the aeration rate in the pathologic specimen (Spearman analysis < 1%).