previous history

[Joanette]

In 1992 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a recurrence in 1995. The lump in 1995 was found on the same side that I had the mastectomy. The cancer had gone into my lymph nodes. I had a bone marrow transplant and have been cancer free since 1995. Last week they discovered (through a chest xray) a 7 mm nodule on my right upper lung.

Is it possible for chest xrays produce false positive results?

Last month I was extremely sick (cough, cold, congested, etc). Would this sickness show up as a "nodule" on a chest xray?

I had ct of the chest today. What do statistics say about the likelhood that this "new" spot on my lung would be cancerous?

[ipnotica]

Hi Joanette,

You've certainly been through a lot already, and I wish you the best.  I'm not a doctor, but the way I understand it, yes, it's very possible for a chest x-ray to produce a false positive result.  The National Cancer Institute (NCI) conducted a controlled study to evaluate screening for lung cancer.  Out of 5,991 chest x-rays that showed "positive" results, only 126 were eventually diagnosed with lung cancer.  That's a lot of false positives!

It's quite likely the nodule could be from an infection.   Most single pulmonary nodules are benign, however, some do represent early stage lung cancer.  In a 2002 study by Jim Burdine, MD, a surgeon with Minnesota Thoracic Surgeons in Minneapolis, 17 patients with various kinds of cancer and suspicious lung nodules averaging 9 mm, 5 nodules proved to be cancerous.  That's about one-third.

Good luck to you

[Enoch Choi, MD]

Yes, chest xrays often give false positive results.  Many other conditions can cause nodules.  What did the CT show, that helps to differentiate between different nodules.  Ipnotica is right, infection is a common reason.