What is lung nodules?

Your doctor will look at several risk factors to see how likely it is that the nodule is cancer. Your doctor will look at:

• Whether you smoke or have ever smoked.
• Your age and your family's medical history.
• Whether you have ever had lung cancer.
• The size, density, and other characteristics of the nodule.
• Whether the nodule has changed in size. Your doctor may look at past chest X-rays or CT scans, if available, and compare them. Or you may have a series of CT scans to see if the nodule grows over time.

What happens next depends on the risk of the nodule being cancer.

• If you have no risk factors and the nodule is small, your doctor may advise doing nothing.
• If the risk is small, your doctor may schedule follow-up appointments and CT scans later to see if the nodule is growing.
• If there's a higher risk of cancer, your doctor may:
  • Do a PET scan, which may help tell if the nodule is cancerous or not.
  • Take a sample of tissue from the nodule for testing. This is called a biopsy.
  • Remove the nodule with surgery.

A lung nodule might not cause any symptoms. But you may have symptoms from whatever caused the nodule, like symptoms of an infection.

If the cause of the nodule is clear (for example, if it's caused by an infection or inflammation), you may take medicine to treat that problem.

If the cause isn't clear, you may have more tests or treatment. It depends on the risk that the nodule may be cancer.

• If the risk of cancer is small, your doctor may just want to watch to see if the nodule changes over time. Or your doctor may want you to have regular follow-up appointments and tests. For example, you may have a CT scan every 3 to 6 months to see if the nodule is growing.
• If there's a higher risk of cancer, you may have more tests like a PET scan or biopsy (a tissue sample). If the nodule is cancer, you may have surgery to remove the cancer. Or you may have some type of cancer treatment.

Your doctor may have found one or more nodules on your lung when you were having a chest X-ray or CT scan.

To diagnose the cause of nodules, your doctor will:

• Ask about your symptoms, do a physical exam, and review your past health.
• Look at your X-rays or CT scan to find out the size, shape, location, and number of nodules you have.
• Order other tests, if needed, such as:
  • Blood tests. They can help find out if inflammation or an infection might be the cause.
  • A PET scan. It can help find out if the nodule might be cancer.
  • A biopsy (a tissue sample). This test can find out if the nodule might be cancer or another problem.

Your doctor will look at several things to see how likely it is that a nodule is cancer. Your doctor will look at:

• Whether you smoke or have smoked in the past.
• Your age and your family's past health.
• Whether you have been exposed to or breathed in harmful materials, like tobacco smoke, asbestos, or coal dust.
• The size and shape of the nodule.
• Whether the nodule has changed in size. Your doctor may look at any past chest X-rays or CT scans and compare them. Or you may have a series of CT scans to see if the nodule grows over time.

Lung nodules may be caused by:

• A lung cancer.
• A cancer that has spread (metastasized) to the lung from another part of the body.
• A growth that isn't cancer.
• An infection, or a scar from an old infection.
• Conditions that cause inflammation, like sarcoidosis.
• Abnormal blood vessels that clump together, like an arteriovenous malformation.
• Being exposed to or breathing in harmful substances, like tobacco smoke or asbestos.

Sometimes a cause isn't found.

Pulmonary (lung) nodules are growths or "spots" in the lungs. You may have just one nodule (called a solitary pulmonary nodule) or more than one (called multiple nodules).