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Kurtosis and skewness assessments of solid lung nodule density histograms: differentiating malignant from benign nodules on CT

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Japanese Journal of Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 28 February 2014

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of our study was to assess pulmonary nodule characteristics using density histogram kurtosis and skewness and to distinguish malignant from benign nodules.

Materials and methods

Ninety-three lung nodules on CT were analyzed, including 72 malignant and 21 benign nodules. They were completely solid or solid with limited ground-glass opacity. Based on their CT characteristics, nodules were categorized into type A, homogeneous nodules with uniform internal structures and clear margins, and type B, inhomogeneous nodules with heterogeneous structures or uneven margins. Kurtosis and skewness were calculated from density histograms to compare type A and B nodules and malignant and benign nodules. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to assess kurtosis and skewness for discriminating between different nodule types.

Results

Type A nodules (n = 35) had greater kurtosis and reduced skewness (p < 0.001) compared to type B nodules (n = 58). Malignant tumor kurtosis was greater than that of benign nodules (type A, p < 0.05; type B, p = 0.001). Type B malignant tumors had reduced skewness compared to benign nodules (p < 0.05). ROC curves provided relatively high values for the area under the curve (0.71–0.83).

Conclusion

Kurtosis and skewness assessments of density histograms may be useful for differentiating malignant from benign nodules.

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Conflict of interest

There is no conflict of interest regarding the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, University of the Ryukyus, 207 Uehara, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0215, Japan

    Ayano Kamiya, Sadayuki Murayama, Hisashi Kamiya & Tsuneo Yamashiro

  2. Department of Radiology, Okinawa National Hospital, National Hospital Organization, 3-20-14 Ganeko, Ginowan, Okinawa, 901-2214, Japan

    Yasuji Oshiro

  3. Department of Radiology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan

    Nobuyuki Tanaka

Authors
  1. Ayano Kamiya
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  2. Sadayuki Murayama
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  3. Hisashi Kamiya
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  4. Tsuneo Yamashiro
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  5. Yasuji Oshiro
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  6. Nobuyuki Tanaka
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Correspondence to Tsuneo Yamashiro.

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Kamiya, A., Murayama, S., Kamiya, H. et al. Kurtosis and skewness assessments of solid lung nodule density histograms: differentiating malignant from benign nodules on CT. Jpn J Radiol 32, 14–21 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-013-0264-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-013-0264-y

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