CT Imaging of Primary Lung Tumours with CT Guided Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology Correlation among Guwahati, Assam Population

BACKGROUND The primary lung masses (tumours) are those that originate from the lung tissue. Although most primary pulmonary tumours are carcinomas, a large histological spectrum of benign and malignant tumours of the lung exists. Although chest xray is still considered to be the primary imaging modality of lungs, computed tomography (CT) not only shows the segments that are involved but also the extent of involvement. We wanted to study the sensitivity and specificity of CT in the diagnosis of primary neoplastic lesions of lung, study the CT patterns of different histological variants of bronchogenic carcinoma, and correlate CT findings with CT guided fine needle aspiration and cytology (FNAC) findings. METHODS The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 34 patients suspected clinically of having lung neoplasms, in Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati, Assam from December 2010 to November 2011. RESULTS Considering FNAC / histopathological examination (HPE) as the gold standard, the positive predictive value and false negative value of CT scan for diagnosis of neoplastic lesions of lung were 97 % and 3 % respectively, in our study. Among our study population, mean age with lung tumours was 61 years, highest number of cases was seen in the age group of 51 - 60 years (35 %); Males and females affected were 27 (79.41 %), and 7 in number (20.59 %), respectively. CONCLUSIONS CT is more sensitive in the detection of neoplastic lesions of the lung and associated hilar / mediastinal adenopathy than chest roentgenography. CT has a high efficacy in detecting neoplastic lesions of lung, delineating its lobar and segmental anatomy, thereby helping surgical resection of lung. In this study, CT guided FNAC and cytological findings correlated well with CT diagnosis of primary neoplastic lesions of lung. KEYWORDS Primary Lung Tumour, Contrast Enhanced Computed Tomography (CECT), Fine Needle Aspiration and Cytology (FNAC)