Differentiating the Invasiveness of Lung Adenocarcinoma Manifesting as Ground Glass Nodules: Combination of Dual-energy CT Parameters and Quantitative-semantic Features.

ABSTRACT

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of dual-energy CT (DECT) parameters and quantitative-semantic features for differentiating the invasiveness of lung adenocarcinoma manifesting as ground glass nodules (GGNs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between June 2022 and September 2023, 69 patients with 74 surgically resected GGNs who underwent DECT examinations were included. CT numbers on virtual monochromatic images were calculated at 40-130 keV generated from DECT. Quantitative morphological measurements and semantic features were evaluated on unenhanced CT images and compared between pathologically confirmed adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS)-minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) and invasive lung adenocarcinoma (IAC). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors. The diagnostic performance was assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and compared using DeLong's test. RESULTS: Monochromatic CT numbers at 40-130 keV were significantly higher in IAC than in AIS-MIA (all P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic analysis revealed that CT number of 130 keV (odds ratio [OR] = 1.02, P = 0.013), maximum cross-sectional long diameter (OR =1.40, P = 0.014), deep or moderate lobulation sign (OR =19.88, P = 0.005), and abnormal intranodular vessel morphology (OR = 25.57, P = 0.017) were independent predictors of IAC. The combined prediction model showed a favorable differentiation performance with an AUC of 0.966 (95.2% sensitivity, 94.3% specificity, 94.8% accuracy), which was significantly higher than that for each risk factor (AUC = 0.791-0.822, all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: A multi-parameter combined prediction model integrating monochromatic CT numbers from DECT and quantitative-semantic features is promising for the preoperative discrimination of IAC and AIS-MIA in GGN-predominant lung adenocarcinoma.