A new study of more than 10,000 non-smoking adults found that solid lung nodules were present in a considerable portion of study participants. Non-smokers are traditionally thought to be at low risk for lung nodules and lung cancer. The results of the study were published today in Radiology , a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Incidental lung nodules are common findings on chest CT and in high-risk groups are more likely to be a sign of early-stage lung cancer. Because most previous research on the prevalence and size of lung nodules has typically been derived from lung cancer screening studies in heavy smokers, nodule management recommendations are mostly based on this patient population. Thus, our current nodule follow-up guidelines which are mostly based on high-risk patient populations may lead to many unnecessary follow-up examinations in low-risk individuals with incidental pulmonary nodules.
This study is groundbreaking as it provides the first comprehensive analysis of the prevalence and size distribution of solid lung nodules in a population-based Northern European non-smoking cohort. Unlike prior studies that predominantly targeted high-risk lung cancer screening cohorts or Asian cohorts, this research yields fundamental data for the general non-smoking population in northern Europe." Rozemarijn Vliegenthart, M.
D., Ph.D.
, senior author, radiologist and professor of cardiothoracic imaging, University Medical Center Groningen and the Univer.