LESIONS can form in the lungs for a number of reasons – including as a result of disease or injury.
But are they cancerous, how are they diagnosed and what is the treatment available?
What can cause a lesion on the lung?
A lesion is a portion of an organ or a tissue that has been damaged or abnormally changed by a tumour, ulcer or abscess.
They are often caused through injury or bacterial infection.
There are a number of different types that can form, and these are defined according to their pattern:
Bull’s-eye or target lesion
As the name suggests, these are lesions that resemble the bull’s eye on a shooting target.
This type can represent a tumour with an ulcer in the centre.
Coin lesion
This type of lesion in the lung has a round shadow resembling a coin on a chest X-ray, and is also usually caused by a tumour.
Ghon lesion or Ghon focus
This lesion is named after Austrian pathologist Anton Ghon and is a scar-like lesion caused by tuberculosis in childhood.
Are all lesions cancerous?
Lesions can typically be categorised on whether or not they are caused by cancer.
Some are benign (non-cancerous), whereas others are malignant (cancerous), and it can often take a biopsy of a lesion to determine which type it is.
While many are cancerous, some lesions can be the result of chest infection (pneumonia), tuberculosis and empyema (collection of pus).
How are lesions diagnosed?
Many lesions will first be diagnosed using a chest X-ray, and then a biopsy (when a sample of abnormal tissue cells is removed) sometimes takes place later on to determine the cause.
A CT scan can reveal smaller lesions that might have gone undetected by an X-ray.
Often small coin lesions will cause no symptoms, so the only way to determine their presence is through a CT scan or X-ray.
Careful analysis of cells can reveal the type of lesion (cancerous or non-cancerous) and the treatment required.
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How are lesions treated?
The treatment you have depends on what the cause of the lesion is found to be.
Cancer cells can be treated with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Lesions caused by infections and empyema (pus) can be treated with antibiotics.
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