Emphysema or Bronchiectasis with Pulmonary Nodules: Impact on The Risk of Malignancy.

OBJECTIVE

The increasing use of computed tomography (CT) has led to a significant rise in the detection of pulmonary nodules. This has resulted in more studies aimed at identifying risk factors associated with increased detection of early-stage lung cancer. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of coexisting emphysema or bronchiectasis on the incidence of malignancy in pulmonary nodules.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

The study included 212 patients with pulmonary nodules detected on CT images. They were divided into three groups based on the presence of emphysema or bronchiectasis. The effects of demographic factors and pulmonary nodule characteristics on malignancy were evaluated in these groups.

RESULTS

Comparison of the incidence of malignancy in pulmonary nodules across groups showed no significant difference in the emphysema or bronchiectasis groups compared with the control group (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Contrary to what is frequently reported in the literature, the presence of emphysema was not found to be a risk factor for lung cancer in this study. The presence of bronchiectasis was also found not to be a risk factor; however, there are insufficient data in the literature on this point.