Please tell me what you know about Mosaic Attenuation.?

Question

Is it a cancer type? is it serious? what type o treatment?

I could not find specific information on website.

thank you

Answer 1

"Mosaic attenuation" or "Mosaic perfusion" are terms used to describe findings in the lung when viewed with CT scans (usually high-resolution CT scans). The different amount of blood supply or air-filling in a patchy distribution in the lungs results in a kind of checkered or "mosaic" pattern that differs from the usual uniform appearance of the lung. The usual causes are blockage of blood vessels or various airway diseases.

So...
"is it a cancer type?" No. This would be a very unusual finding for cancer.
"Is it serious?" It might be. There are vascular diseases such as pulmonary emboli which are concerning, or airway diseases such as obliterative bronchiolitis or hypersensitivity pneumonia which might warrant concern.
"What type of treatment?" This would depend on the underlying diagnosis. Your physician may need to do some additional tests to help determine what is causing this sign on the CT scan. It could be anything from blood thinners (like coumadin) for clotting diseases to steroids for allergic-like reactions.

Answer 2

Mosaic perfusion refers to areas of decreased attenuation which results from regional differences in lung perfusion secondary to airway disease or pulmonary vascular disease. Distribution is often patch, hence the designation "mosaic." Often with mosaic perfusion, the pulmonary arteries will be reduced in size in the lucent lung fields thus allowing mosaic perfusion to be distinguished from ground-glass opacities.