What do we know about ground-glass opacity nodules in the lung?

The introduction of low-dose chest computed tomography (CT) screening into the clinical practice has led to an increase in the detection rates of lung nodules. A considerable percentage of these nodules are ground-glass opacity nodules (GGNs). The characteristics of patients with GGNs are different from those of patients with typical lung cancer. Patients with GGNs are usually women, nonsmokers, of Asian origin, and relatively young. Most of the papers on GGNs are from Asian countries, especially Japan and Korea. The management of a GGN is particularly important because its long and indolent course requires frequent CT screening, which may cause high radiation exposure, economic burden, and psychological stress to patients