Inadvertent discovery of mass in lung — ?

[Anonymous]

A CT scan for unrelated issues showed a a 3 cm mass along the right posterolateral ninth intercostal space (between ribs). Differential diagnosis includes solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura, extramedullary hematopoiesis, and neoplastic disease.

Trying to understand how to think of this info. Was directed to Dr. Andrew Lerner for review.

Any insights or experience?

[Anonymous]

Did they mention taking a biopsy?

[Anonymous]

I asked ChatGPT 4.0 for you. Standard disclaimer about taking its output with a big grain of salt, but here’s what it said:

As an artificial intelligence developed by OpenAI, I can provide medical explanations, but please remember that actual oncologists or other medical professionals should be consulted for a complete understanding and diagnosis.

Here is a breakdown of what this medical description means:

"3 cm mass along the right posterolateral ninth intercostal space (between ribs)": This means that there is a lump or growth, measuring approximately 3 cm, located in the region known as the posterolateral ninth intercostal space. This area refers to the space between the ninth pair of ribs on the right side of your body, and the term "posterolateral" specifies the exact location further: towards the back (posterior) and to the side (lateral).
"Differential diagnosis includes solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura, extramedullary hematopoiesis, and neoplastic disease": A differential diagnosis is a list of potential diagnoses or diseases that could explain the medical findings, in this case, the 3 cm mass. Your doctor will often consider multiple possible explanations and will use further testing and clinical judgement to narrow down this list. Here are the conditions mentioned:
"Solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura": The pleura is a thin membrane that wraps around the outside of your lungs and lines the inside of your chest cavity. A solitary fibrous tumor is a type of benign (non-cancerous) growth that can occur anywhere in the body, including the pleura.
"Extramedullary hematopoiesis": This is a condition where your body starts making blood cells outside of the bone marrow, which is where they are normally made. In this case, your body could be forming blood cells within that mass.
"Neoplastic disease": This term refers to a condition characterized by the presence of a neoplasm, which is an abnormal mass of tissue. The growth of a neoplasm can be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous), and further testing would be required to differentiate between the two.
Your healthcare provider will probably want to perform additional tests to get a better understanding of what this mass is, such as a biopsy (where a small piece of the mass is taken for microscopic examination), imaging studies, or blood tests. Depending on the results, they will then discuss the best course of action or treatment options with you.

[Anonymous]

These are called incidentalomas- random things in your body that just exist and you’d never know about except for scans to look for other things. The stress they cause and then the testing, etc. are a big reason why doctors won’t just give diagnostic MRI or scans routinely to find stuff. It’s probably nothing. It could be something. I hope it’s not since it’s on the pleura.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are called incidentalomas- random things in your body that just exist and you’d never know about except for scans to look for other things. The stress they cause and then the testing, etc. are a big reason why doctors won’t just give diagnostic MRI or scans routinely to find stuff. It’s probably nothing. It could be something. I hope it’s not since it’s on the pleura.

This. Random scanning always finds benign things that cause freak out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These are called incidentalomas- random things in your body that just exist and you’d never know about except for scans to look for other things. The stress they cause and then the testing, etc. are a big reason why doctors won’t just give diagnostic MRI or scans routinely to find stuff. It’s probably nothing. It could be something. I hope it’s not since it’s on the pleura.

This. Random scanning always finds benign things that cause freak out.

3cm is pretty big for an incedentaloma.

[Anonymous]

I had something twice that size that also lit up like crazy in a PET scan but it biopsied negative, started to shrink quickly, and was deemed merely inflammation/pneumonia. I think that means that imaging can make something look like an actual tumor when in fact it is just phlegm/tissue swelling, i.e. not really a ‘thing’ at all. Radiology still doesn’t provide easy-to-interpret images in many cases.

The whole thing was terrifying, and it’s taken almost a year to disappear.

[Anonymous]

My mother fell off a horse and because she cracked a rib she got imaging done. That showed a shadow on her lung that led to a lot of questions and then ultimately, nothing at all. She lived another 40 years without incident in that part of her body.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These are called incidentalomas- random things in your body that just exist and you’d never know about except for scans to look for other things. The stress they cause and then the testing, etc. are a big reason why doctors won’t just give diagnostic MRI or scans routinely to find stuff. It’s probably nothing. It could be something. I hope it’s not since it’s on the pleura.

This. Random scanning always finds benign things that cause freak out.

3cm is pretty big for an incedentaloma.

Nah. I have a 2 cm mass in one breast. It’s benign. People have countless lumps of tissue in their bodies, most of which they’ll never know about.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, All. Really. Appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

For contrast, mine turned out to be metastases from cancer I didn’t know I had. But my doctors were shocked because that’s very unusual. Most findings are benign. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

As others have said, soooo much imaging finds incidental stuff on lungs and it’s almost always benign.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are called incidentalomas- random things in your body that just exist and you’d never know about except for scans to look for other things. The stress they cause and then the testing, etc. are a big reason why doctors won’t just give diagnostic MRI or scans routinely to find stuff. It’s probably nothing. It could be something. I hope it’s not since it’s on the pleura.

Yes I have a nodule on my liver, probably a hemangioma. Now maybe I need an MRI? Oh dear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These are called incidentalomas- random things in your body that just exist and you’d never know about except for scans to look for other things. The stress they cause and then the testing, etc. are a big reason why doctors won’t just give diagnostic MRI or scans routinely to find stuff. It’s probably nothing. It could be something. I hope it’s not since it’s on the pleura.

Yes I have a nodule on my liver, probably a hemangioma. Now maybe I need an MRI? Oh dear.

. I’m PP found on an ultrasound of my entire abdomen because of some mild nausea that was persistent. They found a little inflammation in my gallstone now I have to meet with a surgeon to discuss removing it. Also found the liver thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These are called incidentalomas- random things in your body that just exist and you’d never know about except for scans to look for other things. The stress they cause and then the testing, etc. are a big reason why doctors won’t just give diagnostic MRI or scans routinely to find stuff. It’s probably nothing. It could be something. I hope it’s not since it’s on the pleura.

Yes I have a nodule on my liver, probably a hemangioma. Now maybe I need an MRI? Oh dear.

. I’m PP found on an ultrasound of my entire abdomen because of some mild nausea that was persistent. They found a little inflammation in my gallstone now I have to meet with a surgeon to discuss removing it. Also found the liver thing.

Sorry gallbladder inflammation, not sure they found actual stones on the scan.