Compared to malignant tumors, benign lung tumors: Aren't cancerous, so won't spread to other parts of the body. Grow slowly, or might even stop growing or shrink.
A decrease in the size of ground glass nodules may indicate the optimal timing for curative surgery. Lung Cancer.
Lung nodules are quite common, and most of them are benign, or noncancerous. Benign nodules don't require any treatment, but your physician will monitor any changes in size with follow-up scans. If the nodule appears to remain the same size, it is likely not cancerous.
The most common causes of lung nodules are inflamed tissue due to an infection or inflammation (called granulomas) or benign lung tumors (such as hamartomas). Less common, malignant lung nodules are typically caused by lung cancer or other cancers that have spread to the lungs (metastatic cancer).
Compared to their cancerous counterparts, benign lung nodules will not spread to multiple parts of the body (metastasis) and are typically not life-threatening. Sometimes, these nodules may be inflammatory in nature and can shrink or spontaneously disappear by the time of your next scan.
About 40 percent of pulmonary nodules turn out to be cancerous. Half of all patients treated for a cancerous pulmonary nodule live at least five years past the diagnosis. But if the nodule is one centimeter across or smaller, survival after five years rises to 80 percent. That's why early detection is critical.
The smaller the nodule, the more likely it is to be benign. Also, benign nodules grow very slowly, if at all, while cancerous nodules on average can double in size every four months or less.
Nodules between 6 mm and 10 mm need to be carefully assessed. Nodules greater than 10 mm in diameter should be biopsied or removed due to the 80 percent probability that they are malignant. Nodules greater than 3 cm are referred to as lung masses.
However, your doctor may suspect a lung nodule is cancerous if it grows quickly or has ridged edges. Even if your doctor believes the nodule is benign or noncancerous, he or she may order follow-up chest scans for some time to monitor the nodule and identify any changes in size, shape or appearance.
Since few studies investigated the growth rate of pulmonary nodules, we defined the growth rate of pulmonary nodules according to previous studies. Most studies defined pulmonary nodules with a VDT >400 days and VDT ≤400 days as slow-growing and fast-growing pulmonary nodules, respectively (11, 19).
Generally, benign tumors grow slowly, but they can sometimes stop growing or may even shrink. These tumors usually don't require removal or treatment and aren't life-threatening. While lung tumors may grow and press upon neighboring tissue, they won't invade, eradicate, or replace them.
Lung nodules are quite common and are found on one in 500 chest X-rays and one in 100 CT scans of the chest. Lung nodules are being recognized more frequently with the wider application of CT screening for lung cancer. Roughly half of people who smoke over the age of 50 will have nodules on a CT scan of their chest.
Location. Location of nodules in the lung is another important predictor as nodules on the upper lobes are more likely to be malignant. Although etiology of this predilection is unclear, higher concentration of inhaled carcinogens could be a possibility.
Several studies have reported the natural history of thyroid nodules [21-23]. Size reduction or nodule disappearance in 52% of untreated, benign thyroid nodules has been reported, and these changes were more frequently observed in cystic nodules [23].
Radioactive iodine.
Doctors use radioactive iodine to treat hyperthyroidism. Taken as a capsule or in liquid form, radioactive iodine is absorbed by your thyroid gland. This causes the nodules to shrink and signs and symptoms of hyperthyroidism to subside, usually within two to three months.
If lung nodules are large or malignant, they may cause symptoms, including: Chronic cough. Blood-tinged sputum. Shortness of breath.
Some nodules will be followed with a repeat CT scan in 6-12 months for a few years to make sure it does not change. If the lung nodule biopsy shows an infection, you might be sent to a specialist called an infectious disease doctor, for further testing.
Lung nodules, pulmonary nodules, white spots, lesions—these terms all describe the same phenomenon: an abnormality in the lungs. Lung nodules are commonly found after a patient undergoes a chest CT scan for some reason, such as when a patient experiences symptoms of lung disease or during a lung cancer screening.
How are lung nodules managed or treated? Small, noncancerous lung nodules don't usually require treatment. You may need treatments, such as antibiotics or antifungal medications, if you have an infection. If the nodule grows, causes problems or is cancerous, you may need surgery.
Following smoking cessation, lung nodules and cysts gradually disappeared on serial computed tomography scans, with complete clearance of the lesions after 12 months. The role of tobacco smoking is discussed, in detail, against the background of the literature.
Biopsies are usually not recommended when nodules are small because it is very difficult to biopsy them safely. Doing a biopsy when a nodule is small can cause harm such as trouble breathing, bleeding, or infection. Biopsies are often done for nodules that are 9 mm or larger.
This would determine the growth rate; tumors were deemed fast growing (fewer than 400 days), slow-growing (between 400 and 599 days) or indolent (600 days or longer).
Treatment for lung nodules may range from a “watchful waiting” approach for benign nodules, to surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy for malignant nodules. If the nodule is benign, your physician will monitor the nodule periodically with CT scans, to determine if any changes in size or shape have occurred.
In this issue of Radiology, Lee et al report on the likelihood that subsolid nodules (SSNs) 6–30 mm in size would grow after remaining stable for 5 years (1). This represents one of the few studies to specifically clinically assess this important subset of lesions.