Pulmonary nodule (patient information)

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor-In-Chief: Mohammed A. Sbeih, M.D. [2] Maria Fernanda Villarreal, M.D. [3]

• A solitary pulmonary nodule is a round or oval spot (lesion) in the lungs that is seen with a chest x-ray or CT scan.

• There are usually no symptoms.

• More than half of all solitary pulmonary are noncancerous (benign). Benign nodules have many causes, including old scars and infections.
• Infectious granulomas are the cause of most benign lesions.
• You have a greater risk for developing a solitary pulmonary nodule if you have:

• Tuberculosis or been exposed to TB
• Infectious lung diseases caused by fungus, such as:

• Histoplasmosis
• Coccidioidomycosis
• Cryptococcosis
• Aspergillosis

• However, the above conditions makes it more likely that the solitary pulmonary nodule is noncancerous.
• Young age, history of not smoking, calcium in the lesion, and small lesion size are factors associated with a noncancerous diagnosis.
• Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancerous (malignant) pulmonary nodules.

• A solitary pulmonary nodule is usually found by your health care professional when a chest x-ray is performed for some other reason.

• A solitary pulmonary nodule is usually found on a chest x-ray. If x-rays repeated over time show the nodule size has remain unchanged for 2 years, it is generally considered benign.
• A chest CT scan is often done to look at a solitary pulmonary nodule in more detail.
• Other tests used to examine a solitary pulmonary nodule may include:

• PET scan
• Percutaneous needle biopsy
• Single-photon emission CT (SPECT) scan
• Skin tests to rule out infectious causes
• Lung biopsy

• Ask your doctor about the risks of a biopsy versus monitoring the size of the nodule with regular x-rays.
• Reasons for a biopsy or removing the nodule may include:
• Smoking
• The nodule size has grown compared to earlier x-rays
• A CT scan suggests the lesion is malignant (cancerous)

Directions to Hospitals Treating Solitary Pulmonary Nodule

• The outlook is generally good if the nodule is benign.
• If the nodule does not grow larger over a 2-year period, under most circumstances nothing more need be done. On occasion, the appearance of the nodule on CT scan may warrant continued follow-up.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000071.htm

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