Solitary pulmonary nodule: correlation between radiographic findings and nature of the lesions.

A retrospective study of 92 solitary pulmonary nodules of patients submitted to surgery is reported. The review was carried out only on chest X-rays performed prior to surgery. The radiographic signs concerning density, contour and margin were correlated with the benign or malignant nature of the lesions. 91.06% of the malignant nodules had a lobulated-umbilicated contour and ill-defined margins; 82.60% of the benign nodules had smooth contour and well-defined margins. Radiographically visible calcifications were found in 85% (6 cases) of the benign nodules, and in 15% (1 case) of the malignant ones. It is concluded that it is impossible to make a definite diagnosis of nature of SPN, due to the different types of tumor growth.