Prevalence of invasive lung cancer in pure ground glass nodules less than 30 mm: A systematic review

Abstract

All published studies were retrospective (n = 28) and the majority conducted in Asia (n = 25). Baseline patient cohorts were mainly from published surgical series (n = 22) or lung cancer screening programs (n = 6). The proportion of minimally invasive and invasive cancer ranged from 0.9 % to 100 % with a pooled prevalence of 42.4 % [95 % CI: 0.28, 0.57]. Considerable heterogeneity was observed (I2 =99 %) and patient selection was the most significant contribution, accounting for 73 % of the observed heterogeneity (p < 0.0001). Meta-regression based on size selection and country of investigation revealed no significant contribution to effect size effect or heterogeneity.