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.
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 <30 pack-years, and 46 males with ≥30 pack-years) using a three-dimensional semiautomated method. Volume changes were evaluated using three methods: percent change, proportional change and growth rate. The 95% limits of agreement were evaluated using the Bland-Altman method.


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<0.05).


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.
['Kakinuma|Ryutaro|R|', 'Muramatsu|Yukio|Y|', 'Yamamichi|Junta|J|', 'Gomi|Shiho|S|', 'Oubel|Estanislao|E|', 'Moriyama|Noriyuki|N|']
follow-up indeterminate solid nodule lung cancer screening Computed tomography (CT) volumetry