Ashok Kumar1, Anil Kumar Geetha Virupakshappa2, Sushma Kenkare Lokanatha3
BACKGROUND
The primary lung masses (tumours) are those that originate from the lung tissue.
Although most primary pulmonary tumours are carcinomas, a large histological
spectrum of benign and malignant tumours of the lung exists. Although chest xray
is still considered to be the primary imaging modality of lungs, computed
tomography (CT) not only shows the segments that are involved but also the
extent of involvement. We wanted to study the sensitivity and specificity of CT in
the diagnosis of primary neoplastic lesions of lung, study the CT patterns of
different histological variants of bronchogenic carcinoma, and correlate CT findings
with CT guided fine needle aspiration and cytology (FNAC) findings.
METHODS
The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 34 patients
suspected clinically of having lung neoplasms, in Gauhati Medical College and
Hospital, Guwahati, Assam from December 2010 to November 2011.
RESULTS
Considering FNAC / histopathological examination (HPE) as the gold standard, the
positive predictive value and false negative value of CT scan for diagnosis of
neoplastic lesions of lung were 97 % and 3 % respectively, in our study. Among
our study population, mean age with lung tumours was 61 years, highest number
of cases was seen in the age group of 51 - 60 years (35 %); Males and females
affected were 27 (79.41 %), and 7 in number (20.59 %), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
CT is more sensitive in the detection of neoplastic lesions of the lung and
associated hilar / mediastinal adenopathy than chest roentgenography. CT has a
high efficacy in detecting neoplastic lesions of lung, delineating its lobar and
segmental anatomy, thereby helping surgical resection of lung. In this study, CT
guided FNAC and cytological findings correlated well with CT diagnosis of primary
neoplastic lesions of lung.
