HOME  >  Online journal

Vol.45 No.4 contents

Japanese/English

Full Text of PDF (177K) Article in Japanese

- Original Article -

Correlation Between Clinical Characteristics, Radiological Findings, Pathological Findings, and Prognosis in Patients With a Peripheral Lung Adenocarcinoma Less Than 15 mm in Diameter

Toshihiko Hashizume¹, Kouzo Yamada¹, Rie Suzuki¹, Haruhiro Saito¹, Fumihiro Oshita¹, Kazumasa Noda¹, Haruhiko Nakayama¹, Yoichi Kameda^2
1Department of Thoracic Oncology, ²Department of Pathology, Kanagawa Cancer Center, Japan

---

Objective. Most small lung cancers less than 15 mm in diameter can be detected by CT. As CT screening for lung cancer becomes more common, more lung cancers less than 15 mm in size will be detected. This study was conducted to evaluate the correlation between clinical characteristics and pathological findings, and the correlation between radiological findings, pathological findings, and outcomes in patients with a peripheral lung adenocarcinoma less than 15 mm in diameter. Methods. A retrospective analysis was conducted including 160 patients with a peripheral lung adenocarcinoma less than 15 mm in diameter resected between 1992 and 2003. The correlation between clinical parameters such as gender or smoking state and Noguchi's subtypes of adenocarcinoma was investigated. We classified lung adenocarcinomas by thin-section CT (TS-CT) in two types: air-containing type and solid type. Differences in pathological findings and prognosis between the two groups were also analyzed. Results. Noguchi's type A and B adenocarcinomas were more frequent in females than males. Noguchi's type D, E and F adenocarcinomas were more frequent in smokers than nonsmokers. Air-containing types had fewer invasive pathological findings and a more excellent prognosis than solid types. Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors including p-stage showed an insignificant correlation between survival and TS-CT findings (p=0.059). Conclusion. Differences in gender and smoking status might lead to the differences in pathological subtype of lung adenocarcinomas. Although a TS-CT finding has not shown to be an independent prognostic factor, it is suggested that we may be able to differentiate early lung cancer by TS-CT.
key words: Noguchi's classification, Small lung cancer, CT screening, Thin-section CT

Received: February 9, 2005
Accepted: May 11, 2005

JJLC 45 (4): 311-317, 2005