Clinicopathological analysis of clinical N0 peripheral lung cancers with a diameter of 1 cm or less.
BACKGROUND
The appropriateness of limited resection for small-sized lung cancer continues to be debated. It is not yet clear whether tumor size alone is a reliable indicator for limited resection.


METHODS
From 1980 to 2002, 27 patients with clinical N0 peripheral lung cancers having diameters of 1 cm or less underwent pulmonary resection. Clinicopathological features of these cases were reviewed retrospectively.


RESULTS
Histological analysis showed that there were 23 cases of adenocarcinoma (81.5 %), two large cell carcinomas (7.4 %), and two carcinoid tumors. Twenty-two cases were classified as pathological stage 1, one was stage II, and four were stage III. Four patients (14.8 %) had lymphatic vessel invasion, three (11.1 %) had lymph node metastasis, and two (7.4 %) had intrapulmonary metastasis. The 5-year disease-free survival rate was 76.6 %.


CONCLUSIONS
It is impossible to predict the effectiveness of an intentional limited resection for lung cancer using only tumor size.
Moriya
Y
Y
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Japan.
Iyoda
A
A
Hiroshima
K
K
Sekine
Y
Y
Shibuya
K
K
Iizasa
T
T
Saitoh
Y
Y
Fujisawa
T
T
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018287:Carcinoma, Large Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011013:Pneumonectomy / Q000379:methods; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis