Are shadows in the lungs serious? Is it lung cancer

Shadows are relatively unfamiliar to many people, and most people don’t know what lung shadows are. Many people don’t know whether shadows in the lungs are serious. Generally, simple infections that cause shadows can be treated. If the lung shadows are caused by lung cancer, this is a more troublesome situation.

1. If there are shadows in the lungs, the judgment should generally be made based on the location, shape and size of the shadows. The shadows of pneumonia are generally flaky or patchy, covering a larger area. In severe cases, liquid density (i.e. pleural effusion) may even appear at the bottom of both lungs. If you are not good at reading, you can look at how the hospital reports the chest X-ray results. Then you should also pay attention to the current symptoms of your patient. If it is accompanied by fever, cough, and sputum, lung inflammation and infection can basically be diagnosed. If there are severe symptoms such as hemoptysis and heart failure, further detailed examination is needed, and treatment is received according to the results.

2. Spotty shadows with high density generally have little clinical significance. If it is a patchy shadow, note that it is flake-like, you should consider the possibility of lung inflammation or tuberculosis. If you don’t have any clinical symptoms now, don’t worry, just pay attention to regular check-ups (generally every six months, and check promptly if you have any symptoms). If the shadows are spotty and high-density, with high density and clear boundaries, calcification of tuberculosis lesions should be considered. If the shadow is thin and blurred, further inspection should be carried out. If the shadow is dense and has clear boundaries, regular re-inspection is sufficient.

3. The doctor pointed out that, in fact, there is a phenomenon of different images for the same disease and the same images for different diseases in imaging. That is, some lung lesions may be highly suspected of lung cancer in imaging. The tumor is large, especially larger than 3CM, with short and fine burrs around it, lobes, pleural traction signs and other malignant signs, but the final pathological results suggest tuberculosis, fungal disease or organizing pneumonia. On the other hand, some lesions are very small, less than 2 cm, with relatively smooth edges and no aforementioned malignant signs. Some may even only present as partial solid ground-glass shadows, very similar to inflammatory lesions or other benign lesions, but the final pathological diagnosis is early lung cancer. Especially the latter case, it is very easy to misdiagnose early lung cancer, causing patients to regret for the rest of their lives.