Evaluation of the 95% limits of agreement of the volumes of 5-year clinically stable solid nodules for the development of a follow-up system for indeterminate solid nodules in CT lung cancer screening

摘要

Background: This study sought to evaluate the 95% limits of agreement of the volumes of 5-year clinically stable solid nodules for the development of a follow-up system for indeterminate solid nodules. Methods: The volumes of 226 solid nodules that had been clinically stable for 5 years were measured in 186 patients (53 female never-smokers, 36 male never-smokers, 51 males with Results: The 95% limits of agreement were as follows: range of percent change, from ±34.5% to ±37.8%; range of proportional change, from ±34.1% to ±36.8%; and range of growth rate, from ±39.2% to ±47.4%. Percent change-based, proportional change-based, and growth rate-based diagnoses of an increase or decrease in ten solid nodules were made at a mean of 302±402, 367±455, and 329±496 days, respectively, compared with a clinical diagnosis made at 809±616 days (P Conclusions: The 95% limits of agreement for volume change in 5-year stable solid nodules may enable the detection of an increase or decrease in the solid nodule at an earlier stage than that enabled by a clinical diagnosis, possibly contributing to the development of a follow-up system for reducing the number of additional Computed tomography (CT) scans performed during the follow-up period.