St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) has opened a Lung Nodule Assessment Clinic in Quezon City, expanding its specialized services as more pulmonary nodules are detected through routine chest X-rays and CT scans.
The clinic provides a coordinated pathway for assessing and managing lung nodules, bringing together imaging review, risk assessment, diagnostic testing, biopsies, and specialist referrals in one system.
The new service targets a growing clinical challenge. Pulmonary nodules are often detected incidentally during imaging for other conditions. While most are benign, some may be early signs of lung cancer, making timely assessment and monitoring important.
SLMC said the clinic is designed to shorten the gap between detection, diagnosis, and treatment while helping patients at low risk avoid unnecessary invasive procedures.
Patients begin with a consultation covering their medical history, risk factors, and imaging results. Cases requiring further evaluation can then be assessed by a multidisciplinary team of pulmonologists, radiologists, thoracic surgeons, oncologists, and specialized nurses.
Depending on the findings, patients may be placed under regular imaging surveillance, undergo advanced diagnostic testing or minimally invasive biopsy, or be referred directly for treatment.
The clinic is particularly intended for adults with abnormal chest imaging or incidentally detected lung nodules, as well as people at elevated risk of lung cancer, including long-term smokers and those with a family history of lung disease.
The structured approach is designed to improve coordination across specialties while allowing doctors to distinguish nodules that require intervention from those that can be safely monitored.
SLMC said earlier identification of malignant nodules can improve treatment prospects because lung cancer detected at an earlier stage generally offers more treatment options and better chances of successful outcomes.
The new clinic adds to the hospital’s specialized cancer and pulmonary care capabilities as advances in imaging continue to increase the number of patients requiring follow-up for potentially significant lung findings.
