Abstract
Background: This study aims to investigate the frequency and significance of indeterminate pulmonary nodules in patients with non-metastatic CRC.
Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 1344 patients with CRC who underwent thoracic CT scans between the years January 2003-December 2009. Those with evident metastatic disease or already known to have pulmonary malignancies were excluded.
Results: Among all patients assessed, 55 (0.4%) of them had nodules that met the criteria of indeterminate pulmonary nodule. We analyzed the cases by size and number of nodules. A multivariable analysis demonstrated that indeterminate pulmonary nodules with irregular border (p=0.002), parenchymal localization (p=0.016) and being multiple in number (p=0.006) were predictives of metastatic disease.
Conclusion: The characteristics of indeterminate pulmonary lesions in CRC cases with no evidence of metastasis elsewhere have to be defined more comprehensively. We believe that for appropriate decision of the frequency for follow -up interval, further studies are required.
- © 2011 ERS
