A new article in European Radiology titled “Assessment of delays in diagnosis of lung cancer in interstitial lung disease” was led by Dr. Tician Schnitzler, Dr. Ali Nowroozi, and Dr. Jae Ho Sohn, in collaboration with colleagues from the Department of Radiology including Dr. Maya Vella, Dr. Jonathan Liu, Dr. Shravan Sridhar, and Dr. Erica Farrand. The article can be found at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-025-12015-z.
The study found that in half of the cases examined (27 out of 54 patients), the diagnosis of lung cancer in the setting of ILD was delayed, with a median delay of more than three years. These delays often stemmed from imaging challenges, including fibrosis obscuring nodules, ground-glass opacities blending into the background, and misinterpretation of findings as infection or exacerbation. When comparing delayed and non-delayed cases, the researchers noted no significant differences in tumor size, stage, morphology, or histologic subtype, with adenocarcinoma being the most common. Survival outcomes also did not differ significantly, suggesting that tumors in delayed cases may be less aggressive biologically, and that the main barrier lies in radiologic detectability. This work highlights the importance of vigilance when interpreting CT scans in patients with fibrotic lung disease and underscores the need for improved screening strategies to support earlier detection in this high-risk population.