Among the many consultation questions about pulmonary nodules, the most common and what many people want to know is what is the relationship between pulmonary nodules and lung cancer, which is different from the answers of others. I wouldn’t hesitate to tell him it doesn’t matter. Among all types of pulmonary nodules, if the total number is added up, the proportion of malignant nodules does not exceed 20%. Therefore, the relationship between most nodules and lung cancer cannot be said to be non-existent, but only a little.
The total number of patients with pulmonary nodules in China is about 120 million, of which the proportion of lung cancer is about 10%. Most nodules, especially solid nodules, are mainly benign in nature. The probability of malignancy of ground-glass nodules is higher than that of solid nodules, but it is not like ground-glass nodules are malignant nodules. Only 16 cases were confirmed to be cancer by major surgery. These patients had both ground-glass nodules and solid nodules, and the final proportion of lung cancer was less than 10%. Of course, this is not the final result. The possibility of malignancy can be basically ruled out if there is no change for 5 years, but the longer the follow-up year, the smaller the probability of malignancy.
Most pulmonary nodules are benign, among which the probability of sequelae left by infection is relatively high, and the scars left by external factors that damage the lungs also occupy part of them, and some Specific lung diseases or systemic diseases that damage the lungs can also cause nodules, and lung cancer is indeed not the majority of lung nodules.
