Pearls and Pitfalls in Lung Cancer CT Screening

Abstract

Annual LDCT lung cancer screening is recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) for high-risk population based on the results from the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NLST) that showed a significant (20%) reduction in lung cancer-specific mortality rate with the use of annual low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening. More recently, the benefits of lung cancer screening were confirmed by the Dutch- Belgian NELSON trial in Europe. With the implementation of lung screening in large scale, knowledge of the limitations related to false positive, false negative and other potential pitfalls is essential to avoid misdiagnosis. This review outlines the most common potential pitfalls in the characterization of screen-detected lung nodules that include artifacts in LDCT, benign nodules that mimic lung cancer, and causes of false negative evaluations of lung cancer with LDCT and PET/CT studies. Awareness of the spectrum of potential pitfalls in pulmonary nodule detection and characterization, including equivocal or atypical presentations, is important for avoiding misinterpretation that can alter patient management.