2015 Volume 29 Issue 7 Pages 890-895
A 63-year-old male with multiple ground-glass nodules (GGNs) in both lung fields detected on CT was followed up over five years. CT indicated that a section of the GGNs was growing. Therefore, left upper lobectomy was performed under a video-assisted thoracoscope to remove three GGNs. The final histological diagnosis for each GGN was inflammatory changes. Limited resection is often adopted for such cases because slow-growing GGNs usually have a low-grade malignant potential even if they are cancerous. However, it is sometimes difficult to obtain a diagnosis and decide on treatment strategies in cases whose multiple GGNs exist inside the lung parenchyma. Furthermore, in some case reports of growing GGNs, pathological findings were not malignant even though radiological images suggested lung cancer. Considering these observations, it is necessary to treat each case individually. In addition, the frequency of growing GGN cases should be clarified throughout Japan.
