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.
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Japan.
Y
Y
Moriya
A
A
Iyoda
K
K
Hiroshima
Y
Y
Sekine
K
K
Shibuya
T
T
Iizasa
Y
Y
Saitoh
T
T
Fujisawa
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