[Slow progression of a ground glass lesion - need for long term vigilance].
BACKGROUND
The identification of a ground-glass opacity on chest CT is a frequent problem because of the number of exams performed.


METHODS
We report the case of a man of 66 years with a very slowly increasing ground-glass opacity during 5 years. Although the lesion was negative for positron emission tomography and because of its increasing size and the appearance of a solid part, our patient underwent surgery. The final diagnosis was stage I adenocarcinoma.


CONCLUSIONS
The management of a ground glass opacity differs from solid nodules of the lung. The rate of malignancy is high in the published studies, especially in south-east Asia. PET is not as useful as for solid nodules. Long term follow up is necessary because of the long doubling time in these neoplasms.
Service de Pneumologie, Hôpital d'instruction des Armées, Clermont Tonnerre, Brest, France. nicolas.paleiron@free.fr
N
N
Paleiron
M
M
André
E
E
Pottier
F
F
Natali
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000368:Aged; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed