This calculator is based upon the American College of Radiology (ACR) Lung-RADS® reporting and data system, however it is neither supported, nor endorsed by the aforementioned organization.
Notes
The Lung-RADS® system
- Assessment categories are excellently summarized by this table released by the ACR. First time users should familiarize themselves with the categories and criteria.
- A succinct summary of the Lung-RADS system can also be found in this Radiopaedia.org article.
Practical points
- The Lung-RADS 0 (incomplete) category should be used if either relevant prior imaging is unavailable or a part of the lungs cannot be evaluated on the exam, and therefore further imaging is required.
- A screen is:
- negative: Lung-RADS 1-2
- positive: Lung-RADS 3-4
- The S modifier indicates clinically significant or potentially significant non lung cancer findings, and can be added to any category from 0-4.
- Growth is defined as an increase in size of > 1.5 mm (> 2 mm3).
- Nodules should be measured using lung window.
- For new large nodules that develop on an annual screening LDCT, a 1 month follow-up CT may be recommended to rule out potentially infectious or inflammatory conditions. (version 1.1 addition).
- The Lung-RADS system is designed for screening. Once a patient has been diagnosed with lung cancer, further management (including additional imaging e.g. PET/CT) may be performed for lung cancer staging, which is no longer screening.
- A comparison of Lung-RADS 1.1 to the 1.0 version showed that the new reporting system has reduced the number of false positives due to the downclassification of subcentimeter typical perifissural nodules.
Last updated: 2021-10-03