Software to support CT scan to detect lung cancer

A team of Canadian researchers, led by the Terry Fox Institute, is developing new software that can determine with more than 90% accuracy whether a high-risk person's lung nodule on a computed tomography (CT) scan is benign or malignant.

Dr. Stephen Lam of the British Columbia Cancer Prevention Agency said on September 4 that to develop the technology, his team looked at data from current and former smokers who had nodules or small tumors in their lungs and could determine with more than 90 percent accuracy whether the tumor was cancerous or not. The software, when combined with a low-dose CT scan, could help doctors make decisions and help patients avoid unnecessary testing.

Illustration photo. (Source: hongngochospital.vn)

Dr Lam stressed that "the important thing about the software is that doctors can reduce the number of CT scans, and even biopsies, for a large proportion of patients, and reduce the number of people who need to be followed up in the first year to less than 10%."

The researchers say the software is important because Canada, along with many other countries, is considering whether to begin screening high-risk populations for lung cancer. Testing current and former smokers could be unnecessarily costly, because subsequent testing shows that 98 percent of lung tumors detected by CT scans end up being benign.

Currently, doctors typically determine the risk that a lung lesion or nodule will develop into cancer based on the size of the nodule. But the software developed by the Canadian researchers includes other parameters that have been identified as risk factors, such as age, sex, family history, emphysema, lymph node location, type of lymph node, or the presence of hard spots on the lymph node.

Dr. Heidi Roberts, a radiologist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, said the software will help eliminate the risks associated with unnecessary testing by reducing the number of tests required for people undergoing lung cancer screening.

“Almost everyone has at least one nodule in their lung, and if we had a reliable, quick, and easy way to determine whether it’s benign or malignant, it would greatly aid lung cancer screening,” said Robert. Dr. Lam, meanwhile, hopes the software will help establish Canadian guidelines for lung cancer screening with CT scans./.

According to (TTXVN) - VT