Appearance of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma and the rapid progression into invasive papillary adenocarcinoma.

The prognostic importance of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma in comparison to the invasive subtypes needs to be studied, although the natural history of a pure bronchioloalveolar carcinoma is still unclear. We report the appearance of a pure ground-glass opacity that demonstrates rapid progression into a solid component in the central area, pathologically revealing a minimally invasive papillary adenocarcinoma. Considering the findings of previous reports, as well as our case, we need to pay careful attention to the follow-up of a patient who has even a pure ground-glass opacity when the patient had a history of an invasive lung cancer. We need also to perform curative surgery with optimal timing.