• Chao Zhang, Xing Sun, Kang Dang, Ke Li, Xiao-Wei Guo, Jia Chang, Zong-Qiao Yu, Fei-Yue Huang, Yun-Sheng Wu, Zhu Liang, Zai-Yi Liu, Xue-Gong Zhang, Xing-Lin Gao, Shao-Hong Huang, Jie Qin, Wei-Neng Feng, Tao Zhou, Yan-Bin Zhang, Wei-Jun Fang, Ming-Fang Zhao, Xue-Ning Yang, Qing Zhou, Yi-Long Wu, and Wen-Zhao Zhong.
• Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine in Lung Cancer, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital & Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
• Oncologist. 2019 Sep 1; 24 (9): 1159-1165.

BackgroundComputed tomography (CT) is essential for pulmonary nodule detection in diagnosing lung cancer. As deep learning algorithms have recently been regarded as a promising technique in medical fields, we attempt to integrate a well-trained deep learning algorithm to detect and classify pulmonary nodules derived from clinical CT images.Materials And MethodsOpen-source data sets and multicenter data sets have been used in this study. A three-dimensional convolutional neural network (CNN) was designed to detect pulmonary nodules and classify them into malignant or benign diseases based on pathologically and laboratory proven results.ResultsThe sensitivity and specificity of this well-trained model were found to be 84.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 80.5%-88.3%) and 83.0% (95% CI, 79.5%-86.5%), respectively. Subgroup analysis of smaller nodules (<10 mm) have demonstrated remarkable sensitivity and specificity, similar to that of larger nodules (10-30 mm). Additional model validation was implemented by comparing manual assessments done by different ranks of doctors with those performed by three-dimensional CNN. The results show that the performance of the CNN model was superior to manual assessment.ConclusionUnder the companion diagnostics, the three-dimensional CNN with a deep learning algorithm may assist radiologists in the future by providing accurate and timely information for diagnosing pulmonary nodules in regular clinical practices.Implications For PracticeThe three-dimensional convolutional neural network described in this article demonstrated both high sensitivity and high specificity in classifying pulmonary nodules regardless of diameters as well as superiority compared with manual assessment. Although it still warrants further improvement and validation in larger screening cohorts, its clinical application could definitely facilitate and assist doctors in clinical practice.© AlphaMed Press 2019.

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