Home HealthTopics Health Centers Reference Library Research
Join us on Facebook Join us on Facebook Share on Facebook
Share

Cancer

3 mm Non-Calcified Nodule

09/25/2008

Question:

I am 19 years old and I had a CT scan done. They found that I have a 3 mm non-calcified nodule in the left lung base. Should I be concerned? Could this grow and turn into lung cancer?

Answer:

Many people have small (< 10 mm) nodules in their lungs on CT scans. They are considered too small to characterize, meaning no one can say if it is benign or not. No one can say what it is. Sometimes these are due to old infections, benign inflammatory issues or sometimes cancer. Because there is no good way to tell what it is, many doctors have their patients undergo repeat CT scans in 3 to 12 months. If it is not a scar, it may change enough so that a diagnosis can be made. Most of the time these tiny nodules in healthy people don't change, so it would be considered a scar. Talk to you doctor about a follow-up CT scan in the future.

For more information:

Go to the Cancer health topic, where you can:

Response by:

Joanna M Brell, MD Joanna M Brell, MD
Formerly, Assistant Professor of Medicine
School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University