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Ground glass density nodule

Dr Yuranga Weerakkody and Dr Usman Bashir et al.

A ground glass density nodule is a circumscribed area of increased pulmonary attenuation with preservation of the bronchial and vascular margins. A GGN can be:

partly solid (part of the ground-glass opacity completely obscures the parenchyma)
nonsolid (no completely obscured areas) - pure ground glass nodules

Although encountered regularly, the incidence of cancer in these nodules has been reported as high as 63% (for partly solid nodules, in one study). Histologically these may represent:

cancer : (eg, bronchoalveolar carcinoma (BAC), adenocarcinoma in situ, minimally invasive adenocarcinoma and invasive adenocarcinoma)
atypical adenomatous hyperplasia
focal interstitial fibrosis
aspergillosis
focal pulmonary haemorrhages

References

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1. Feely MA, Hartman TE. Inappropriate application of nodule management guidelines in radiologist reports before and after revision of exclusion criteria. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2011;196 (5): 1115-9. doi:10.2214/AJR.10.5141 - Pubmed citation
2. Henschke CI, Yankelevitz DF, Mirtcheva R et-al. CT screening for lung cancer: frequency and significance of part-solid and nonsolid nodules. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2002;178 (5): 1053-7. AJR Am J Roentgenol (citation) - Pubmed citation
3. Macmahon H, Austin JH, Gamsu G et-al. Guidelines for management of small pulmonary nodules detected on CT scans: a statement from the Fleischner Society. Radiology. 2005;237 (2): 395-400. Radiology (full text) - doi:10.1148/radiol.2372041887 - Pubmed citation
4. Takahashi S, Tanaka N, Okimoto T et-al. Long term follow-up for small pure ground-glass nodules: implications of determining an optimum follow-up period and high-resolution CT findings to predict the growth of nodules. Jpn J Radiol. 2012;30 (3): 206-17. Jpn J Radiol (full text) - doi:10.1007/s11604-011-0033-8 - Pubmed citation

Synonyms & Alternative Spellings

Synonyms or Alternative Spelling	Include in Listings?
Ground glass density nodule (GGN)	✗
Ground glass density nodules (GGN)	✗
Ground glass density nodules	✗
Ground glass nodule	✗
Ground glass nodules	✗
Ground glass pulmonary nodules	✗
Ground glass lung nodule	✗
Ground glass lung nodules	✗
Ground glass pulmonary nodule	✗