Carcinomas in the superior pulmonary sulcus.

Carcinomas in the superior pulmonary sulcus produce a clinical pattern peculiar to their location. Pancoast (1932) defined tumors in this precise location and described a characteristic group of clinical findings now known as the Pancoast syndrome. Experience with a total of 92 patients with primary carcinomas in the superior pulmonary sulcus treated by combined preoperative irradiation and extended resection in 61 patients (66 per cent) reveals 16 of 46 patients eligible surviving over 5 years (34 per cent) and eight of 30 patients alive over 10 years (29 per cent). Stage of nodal involvement, extent of the tumor, cell type, and pathological effects of preoperative irradiation in the resected specimens are the important factors in prognosis.