Objective To analyze missed diagnosis of early lung metastase focuse on CT image.

Methods One hundred and twenty patients with lung metastases diagnosed from January 2016 to January 2020 were randomly selected, and their CT images were analyzed retrospectively. All patients had multiple CT examinations of chest, included CT examinations before surgery. The earliest CT scans were examined to determine whether diagnosed or missed early lung metastases. And the types of the primary cancer, adjacency to blood vessels or no and so on were analyzed.

Results The missed lung metastases were founded in 42 (35%) patients, including 21 cases of single metastasis and 21 cases of multiple metastases. There was a statistically significant difference in the average size of the missed lung metastase focuses in sub-regions between the two times of examination (P < 0.01). The distances of the missed focuse to adjacency to blood vessel, pleura, and interlobular fissure was shorter in the missed group than that in the negative group (P < 0.01).

Conclusions The early lung metastase focuses on CT images often be missed. The rate of early lung metastase focuses that appeared on the CT images would be increased by training radiologists and technology development, so as to find the lung metastase in the early time, and provide basis for treatment of the early lung metastase.