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Software performance in segmenting ground-glass and solid components of subsolid nodules in pulmonary adenocarcinomas

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Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the performance of software in segmenting ground-glass and solid components of subsolid nodules in pulmonary adenocarcinomas.

Method

Seventy-three pulmonary adenocarcinomas manifesting as subsolid nodules were included. Two radiologists measured the maximal axial diameter of the ground-glass components on lung windows and that of the solid components on lung and mediastinal windows. Nodules were segmented using software by applying five (-850 HU to -650 HU) and nine (-130 HU to -500 HU) attenuation thresholds. We compared the manual and software measurements of ground-glass and solid components with pathology measurements of tumour and invasive components.

Results

Segmentation of ground-glass components at a threshold of -750 HU yielded mean differences of +0.06 mm (p = 0.83, 95 % limits of agreement, 4.51 to 4.67) and -2.32 mm (p < 0.001, -8.27 to 3.63) when compared with pathology and manual measurements, respectively. For solid components, mean differences between the software (at -350 HU) and pathology measurements and between the manual (lung and mediastinal windows) and pathology measurements were -0.12 mm (p = 0.74, -5.73 to 5.55]), 0.15 mm (p = 0.73, -6.92 to 7.22), and -1.14 mm (p < 0.001, -7.93 to 5.64), respectively.

Conclusion

Software segmentation of ground-glass and solid components in subsolid nodules showed no significant difference with pathology.

Key Points

• Software can effectively segment ground-glass and solid components in subsolid nodules.

• Software measurements show no significant difference with pathology measurements.

• Manual measurements are more accurate on lung windows than on mediastinal windows.

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Acknowledgments

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Prof. Jin Mo Goo. The authors of this manuscript declare relationships with the following companies: Prof. B. van Ginneken is affiliated with Fraunhofer MeVis, Bremen, Germany. This study was supported by a grant from the National R&D Program for Cancer Control, Ministry for Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea (1520230). Julien G. Cohen acknowledges support from the Société Francaise de Radiologie (SFR) and Collège des Enseignants de Radiologie de France (CERF). No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained.

Written informed consent was waived by the Institutional Review Board. Methodology: retrospective, observational, performed at one institution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, and Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 110-744, Korea

    Julien G. Cohen, Jin Mo Goo, Roh-Eul Yoo, Chang Min Park & Chang Hyun Lee

  2. Clinique Universitaire de Radiologie et Imagerie Médicale (CURIM), Université Joseph Fourier, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Grenoble, CS 10217, 38043, Grenoble Cedex 9, France

    Julien G. Cohen

  3. Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Jin Mo Goo, Chang Min Park & Young Tae Kim

  4. Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Geert Grooteplein 10, 6525 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Bram van Ginneken

  5. Department of Pathology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Doo Hyun Chung

  6. Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Young Tae Kim

Authors
  1. Julien G. Cohen
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  2. Jin Mo Goo
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  3. Roh-Eul Yoo
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  4. Chang Min Park
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  5. Chang Hyun Lee
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  6. Bram van Ginneken
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  7. Doo Hyun Chung
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  8. Young Tae Kim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jin Mo Goo.

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Cohen, J.G., Goo, J.M., Yoo, RE. et al. Software performance in segmenting ground-glass and solid components of subsolid nodules in pulmonary adenocarcinomas. Eur Radiol 26, 4465–4474 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-016-4317-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-016-4317-3

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