The value of bronchial and cavity contraction rates in differentiating benign and malignant pulmonary cavities

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to assess the value of bronchial and cavity contraction percentages in differentiating benign and malignant pulmonary cavities. METHODS: Forty-two patients with pulmonary cavities were scanned by dual-phase computed tomography (CT). Then, the cavity and bronchial contraction percentages were respectively measured, the differences between the benign and malignant cavities were compared, and the best diagnostic critical point for differentiating benign and malignant cavities was obtained through the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve of the diagnostic test. RESULTS: The contraction percentage of the bronchial end with benign cavities was significantly higher than that of the bronchial end with malignant cavities (P < 0.001). The contraction percentage was significantly higher in the benign group than in the malignant group (P < 0.001). The ROC analysis revealed that the sensitivity and specificity of the bronchial contraction percentage was 90.50 and 86.40%, respectively, while the sensitivity and specificity of the cavity contraction percentage was 90.50 and 90.90%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The dual-phase CT scanning of the bronchial and cavity contraction percentage can distinguish between benign and malignant cavities.