Are Nodules In Lower Right Lung Cancerous?

Posted on Tue, 17 Dec 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 17 Dec 2013 Answered on

Fri, 3 Jan 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : About a month and a half ago I had a CAT scan done of my abdomen when the results came in they found nothing in my abdomen but did find two nodules on my lower right lung one was 5 mm the other one was 9 mm The doctor told me to I needed another CAT scan done which was done about a week ago The radiologist said that there was no cancer in my bones in my lymph node also commented on the two nodules one he said was benign which is the one that was 5 mm and the one that was 9 mm was undetermined and recommends that I have it done again in 3 to 5 months my doctor did not want to wait that long so what he did was told me that he was going to get me appointment with a lung specialist which he has done my question is should I be worried that it is cancer?

Answered by Dr. K. Harish (8 hours later)

Brief Answer: Not to worry Detailed Answer: Nodular lesions in the lungs could be due to many reasons starting from infections to autoimmune disorders to cancer. Many times they are due to lseions called granulomas (result of infections/autoimmune disorder). The lesions are tiny and difficult to evaluate. One method is to follow it up over a period of time and see if it alters its nature or it grows. That is why your radiologist has suggested to wait for 3 months and re-evaluate again. There is a small chance that you are allowing a lesion to grow (may not be advisable in cancer). Based on this argument, you have been referred to a lung specialist. As a broad principle, you have to understand that you may be over investiaged and unnecessarily evaluated if the lesion is not cancer (agressive evaluation) and you are dealying the process of diagnosis if it is cancer (waiting for 3 months before a repeat scan). The error could be either way. On the princple that we shall attempt aggressively at diagnosis, your doctor has advised you to seek consult with a lung specialist. On a specific question whether the lesion is cancer or not it would be very difficult to commit. However, the chances of the lesion being cancer is less. In addition, even if the diagnosis were to be cancer, the lesion is very small and you have been deteced in a very early stage. Again, I would say that the possibilites of cancer are always there but the chances are less and hence you could undergo evaluation with confidence.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E