Overview
The goal of this observational study is to determine the most accurate tumor size measurement method for T-staging and prognostic assessment in lung cancer with cystic airspaces (LCCA). The main questions it aims to answer are:
- What is the optimal T-staging approach for accurately classifying lung cancer with cystic airspaces （LCCA) and predicting patient outcomes?
- How do imaging features of cystic lesions correlate with their pathological characteristics?
- What is the relationship between imaging features of cystic airspace-associated lesions and patient prognosis?
- Can optimizing the T-staging method improve clinical decision-making in patients with LCCA?
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- Histologically confirmed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as verified by biopsy or postoperative pathological examination;
- Patients who have undergone surgical lung resection;
- Patients with complete preoperative chest CT imaging data;
- Preoperative chest CT showing a well-defined gas-containing (air-filled) cystic component within the tumor.
Exclusion Criteria:
- History of pulmonary diseases that could produce cystic lung lesions (e.g., tuberculosis, pulmonary fungal infections, bullae, emphysema, Lymphangioleiomyomatosis \[LAM\], or Birt-Hogg-Dubé \[BHD\] syndrome);
- Systemic anti-tumor therapies, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or targeted therapies (such as monoclonal antibodies, small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors, among others), were administered prior to enrollment;
- Patients with concurrent other malignancies;
- Patients with missing or poor-quality preoperative chest CT imaging data.