Correlation between Imaging Features of Pure Ground-Glass Opacities and Pathological Subtypes of Lung Minimally Invasive Adenocarcinoma and Precursor Lesions

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the relationship between imaging features of pure ground-glass opacities (pGGOs) and the pathological subtypes of MIA and precursor lesions. A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from 1521 patients diagnosed with GGOs as lung adenocarcinoma or precursor lesions between January 2015 and March 2021. The pGGOs were categorized into AAH/AIS and MIA groups. Clinical information and CT imaging features were collected. Statistical analysis, logistic regression, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were performed. A total of 127 patients with 139 pGGOs were included. Maximum radiodensity, minimum radiodensity, mean radiodensity, variance, and skewness showed significant differences between the two groups. Maximum radiodensity and maximum cross-sectional area were identified as risk factors for pathology. The logistic regression model yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.747 (95% CI, 0.666–0.816) for predicting pathological subtypes. The intensity features of pGGOs were found to be significantly different between AAH/AIS and MIA groups. Maximum radiodensity and skewness were independent risk factors for pathology. However, these features did not exhibit satisfactory diagnostic efficiency.