Decreased levels of sex hormones in females with solitary pulmonary nodules were risk factors for malignancy.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this research was to detect the relationship between the levels of sex hormones in females with solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) and their potential malignancies.

METHODS

A total of 187 consecutive patients with pathologically confirmed SPNs by chest CT were enrolled in our study. They were divided into two groups based on the pathologic findings of SPNs after surgery: benign and malignant SPNs. Progesterone (P), estradiol (E2), and testosterone (T) levels in the two groups were measured. Meanwhile, we used binary logistic regression analysis to analyze the risk factors for SPNs.

RESULTS

Of these 187 patients, 73 had benign SPNs, while 114 had malignant SPNs. We found that the levels of progesterone (P), estradiol (E2), and testosterone (T) were decreased significantly in patients with malignant SPNs compared to patients with benign SPNs (all P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that second-hand smoke, burr sign, lobulation sign, pleural traction sign, vascular convergence sign, vacuole sign, and ≥ 1 cm nodules were independent risk factors for malignant pulmonary nodules in females.

CONCLUSIONS

Decreased levels of sex hormones in females were associated with malignant pulmonary nodules, suggesting that they can contribute to the diagnosis of lung cancer.