8mm nodul with spiculated

[Sandra Dee]

8mm nodul with spiculated more like to be cancerous?  I also have 3mm nodules. Can you please help with your opinions. I have to have a pet scan. If nothing shows up, and have to have them for the next 3 years.

[Sandra Dee]

So in your opinion, this 8mm nodole has the likelihood being caner?

[BridgetO]

Hi Sandra Dee and welcome. You'll need to have more testing before you know whether you have lung cancer or not. There are lots of causes for nodules and sometimes they come and go. Spiculated is  more suspicious for being malignant than some other shapes/appearances. We're not doctors here, but we can share our experiences. Let us know what questions you may have and keep us posted. We're here for you.

[Curt]

Hi Sandra.  I’m going through the same thing right now.  I have an 8mm spiculated nodule on my lung.  I do have a family history of lung cancer, I’ve never smoked.   It was found on a scan for something else six months ago.  At the time they did a PET scan which is probably the next step for you.  Active cancer cells glow on a PET scan.  If the nodule doesn’t “light up” on the scan they will likely just want you to come in for CT scans every three or six months.  If it does light up they will want to  biopsy it.  Hearing you have a nodule is really stressful.  The waiting to find out what it is can be maddening.  I still can’t believe how hard it is for them to diagnose small nodules.  They still aren’t able to tell me what mine is.  I have a follow up on Monday.  My doctors have told me that 60% of lung nodules are not cancer.  Spiculated makes them more suspicious, but not definitive.  I find this forum helpful.  Stay diligent and keep after the doctors until you know for sure what you are dealing with.  Hopefully it’s notjing, if it does turn out to be something 8mm is really small and very treatable/curable.  

[LexieCat]

When I was in my lung cancer screening program, my first scan showed several nodules.  I was told to come back in three months, and when that second scan showed no changes, they had me come back in a year.  At that point ONE of the nodules had grown slightly and was now spiculated.  Although the nodule was too small to biopsy, the growth and suspicious appearance led my pulmonologist and my surgeon to recommend surgery even without the biopsy.  It did turn out to be cancer.

If you have no risk factors for lung cancer, it may well be that they don't even continue to follow the nodules on a regular basis.  Most nodules are not cancer.  I think the only reason they wanted to see me back in a year was as part of the regular screening program I was in, due to my smoking history (heavy smoker for 40 years).

Incidentally, I still have several nodules that have been there from the beginning and they are stable and unchanged from the first scans.  They are sitting there, currently doing no harm, and they just keep an eye on them when I go in for my regular post-surgery scans.

[Lisa L]

Any more news Sandra?

[april barrow]

i have a 5.5x4.4mm spiculated nodule in the right upper lobe anterior. i am a nonsmoker so i was curious the step they can do to rule out cancer.

[LUNGevityKristin]

Hi April,

Here is a little bit about diagnosing and testing that might be done: https://lungevity.org/for-patients-caregivers/lung-cancer-101/diagnosing-lung-cancer

Has your doctor recommended any other testing?

[Curt]

@april barrow with anything less than 10 mm they will likely just monitor it with CT scans every six months.  If it grows they will do a PET scan.  If it doesn’t they will just continue to monitor it.  The nodule you have is VERY small.  The majority of nodules are NOT cancer.  

[Going crazy waiting]

I too have an 8mm spiculated, non calcified lung nodule In upper right lung along with a 3mm going for anotherCT IN 2 months. Also family history of cancers waiting is driving me crazy

[Curt]

Hello @Going crazy waiting   The wait between finding out there is something on your lung and actually finding out what it is is very stressful.  I watched one for almost a year and opted to have surgery without knowing for sure.  I didn’t find out I had cancer until I woke up from the surgery.  I hope there are more definitive diagnostic tools for lung cancer soon.  
 

Keep in mind that the majority of nodules are NOT cancer.  The fact that there are two, the one is spiculated and you have a family history increases the concern a bit, though None are a definitive driving factor.  Keep watching them and try and live life without thinking about it between those scans.  

[Laurel]

The waiting...The wondering is tough.  Sending soft hugs and prayers.

[Going crazy waiting]

Curt  thank you for the reply, hope you are doing great. What is the surgery you had?

[Curt]

I had an upper right lobe lobectomy.  

[medlaw2]

never a smoker...no cough, no difficulty breathing, never chest pain/  absolutely no symptoms at all.  . DDx'd multiple granulomas some calcified some not in 2007.  no follow up.  had surgery for another issue and on chest pre op film just mentions some calcified granulomas were noted.  No follow up.  Now another minor surgery but needed a Abd and Pelvis CT.  All was normal however  the dedicated views they take on the CT Abdomen showed a 8mm spiculated nodule in the lower posterior lateral aspect of the left lung.  This radiologist had no knowledge of any previously seen granulomas. I told the surgeon I knew he would mention nodules.  When I searched for the previous films I got them from another hospital and behold there they were.  some 6mm 3mm 4mm some calcified and some not.  But this radiologist saw only 1 in the left lower lung that he mentioned several times in his comments Then in his impression he states it as a mildly spiculated 8mm nodule.  I read 8-10mm nodules are consider small.  But what I need to know is this mildly spiculated nodule is something cancerous?  are the mildly spiculated nodules are always cancer?  I again have absolutely NO Never any symptoms and nofamily Hx of any lung or any cancer.  Plus never a smoker.  In 2007 the radiologist told me that the granulomas developed most likely from a infection process and they they stay like scar tissue.   Im just can't find any info on whether this mildly spiculation of a nodule is always cancerous.  Please help me relieve my mind that this could be benign.

[BridgetO]

Hi Medlaw and welcome. Yes, it's a small nodule. I couldn't venture a guess about whether it's malignant or not. Most nodules are not cancer. "Spiculated" is suspicious, warranting some followup. I don't know about "mildlly spiculated".  I suggest you consult with a pulmonologist and have him/her look at your CT (the actual CT film or whatever you call it, not just the radiologist report)  Pulmonologists can tell a lot from the appearance of a nodule. I wouldn't be surprised if they want to do another CT, one of your whole chest.

My lung cancer was found "by accident'. I had a prior non-lung cancer and was having regular CT scans to watch for possible metastases. A  small nodule appeared in one of my CTs and I had to go back in 3 months  for another CT to see if it had grown. It had, slightly. From the appearance, the pulmonologist thought it didn't look like a metastasis, but that it could be a primary lung cancer, which it turned out to be. By the way, I'm a never-smoker too. 

I had a lobectomy 3 years ago and didn't need further treatment, but I do have regular lung CTs now. Lung cancer found at an early stage is highly curable, usually by surgery  alone.  Early stage lung cancers rarely have any symptoms-- if found early it's usually by accident in a CT  for something else. So don't let your fear keep you from following up on your little nodule.  Either you'll be reassured that it's benign, or you'll be one of us "fortunate" ones who get an early diagnosis.

Keep in touch here and let us know how it goes.

Bridget O

[Tom Galli]

Medlaw,

To reinforce Bridget's view, here is my go to resource on pulmonary nodules from the Cleveland Clinic. You'll note most are not cancer.

Stay the course.

Tom

[Curt]

Hello @medlaw2.  Bridget and Tom have pointed you in the right direction.  I am a 43 year old male, never smoker.  An 8mm spiculated nodule was discovered by accident on an abdominal CT two years ago.  I had it removed last February.  It turned out to be cancerous.  A few things to note.  
 

- Most (60% I think) nodules are NOT cancer.  
- Spiculated does increase the concern but it is not definitive.  
- lung cancer doesn’t manifest symptoms until late stage.  
- 8mm is VERY small.  
- The only definitive diagnosis is a biopsy.  8mm is probably too small for a needle biopsy.  
- granulomas do develop and can cause scaring and appear as nodules.  
- it is important to keep an eye on it.   Seek out a pulmonologist.  
 

[medlaw2]

thank you all for your quick response.  It's 3:30 am and I'm up for this very reason terribly anxious and worried cant sleep or eat until the next step.  Here my husband was going in for  a simple hernia surgery and instead had a complete turnaround to something we are worried about.  Me more than him.  I guess he might hold off until we see a pulmonologist.  is the only way to remove a cancerous area is through a removal of a lobe?  That is too drastic .  How does one fell after ot recover from that type of surgery.  I pray it does come down to that.  With Mildly spiculated  I can not find any literature that says it could be cancer.  It says spiculated is cancer, let alone mildly.    he has absolutely no symptoms not even a cough.  He doesn't even want a biopsy because the lung could deflate causing severe dangerous results just to dc it.        Thanks again for any reassurance  Thanks God its small 8mm.  Now I need to find the best Pulmonologist around.   Someone not too aggressive but highly intelligent

[BridgetO]

Hi Medlaw, Occasionally  a small nodule can be removed by a wedge resection, which takes out only a part of the lobe.It depends in part on the locatiion of the nodule. If it's near the outer edge of the lobe, a wedge could be possible. Mine was too far inside. Removing it would have destroyed the blood circulation below it.

I had a lower right lobectomy by VATS (video assisted). This requires only small incisions. It was a fairly easy surgery, as surgeries go. I was released from the hospital the following day. My activities were restricted for a couple of weeks, but I was able to get around and take care of myself. 

My surgeon said that unless I was planning to run a marathon, I probably wouldn't notice a difference in my lung capacity and I don't. I do notice that my breathing sometimes sounds different on that side, but I can breath fine. I'm 74. My surgery was 3 years ago. My quality of life is good.