Lung nodule malignancy classification with associated pulmonary fibrosis using 3D attention-gated convolutional network with CT scans.

Background: Chest Computed tomography (CT) scans detect lung nodules and assess pulmonary fibrosis. While pulmonary fibrosis indicates increased lung cancer risk, current clinical practice characterizes nodule risk of malignancy based on nodule size and smoking history; little consideration is given to the fibrotic microenvironment.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of incorporating fibrotic microenvironment into classifying malignancy of lung nodules in chest CT images using deep learning techniques.