Correlation between computed tomography imaging and pathological stages and subtypes in early lung adenocarcinoma

Background: Detection of early-stage lung cancers has increased due to computed tomography (CT). The pathological stages and subtypes of early lung cancer determine the treatment strategy. We aimed to investigate the correlation between CT characteristics and pathological status in early lung adenocarcinoma (ADC). Subjects and Methods: Between June 2018 and December 2019, 415 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for lung ADC with pathological atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH) and ADC in situ (AIS), T1a (mi) N0M0, and T1a-cN0M0 were analyzed. The relationship between CT imaging and pathological status was investigated using Chi-squared or Kruskal-Wallis test and binary logistic regression. Results: When cases of AAH, AIS, and T1a (mi) N0M0 were used as the control group, the lesion size, solid component ratio (SCR), and spiculation were significantly and independently associated with T1a-cN0M0 (P < 0.01). SCR >50% (P < 0.01) and spiculation (P < 0.05) were significantly and independently associated with T1aN0M0. In cases of pathological T1a-cN0M0, SCR >50% was significantly different between adherent wall growth ADC and mucinous ADC (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Some CT characteristics are related to the pathological stage and subtypes of early lung ADC. Larger diameter, spiculation, and SCR >50% are associated with invasive ADC. SCR >50% is positively correlated with mucinous ADC and negatively with adherent growth ADC.