OBJECTIVES: Ground glass opacity (GGO) on thin-section computed tomography (CT) has been reported to be a favourable prognostic marker in lung cancer, and the size or area of GGO is commonly used for preoperative evaluation. However, it can sometimes be difficult to evaluate the status of GGO. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 572 consecutive patients with resected lung cancer of clinical stage IA between 2004 and 2011. All patients underwent preoperative CT and their radiological findings were reviewed. The areas of consolidation and GGO were evaluated for all lung cancers. Lung cancers were divided into three categories on the basis of the status of GGO: GGO, part solid and pure solid. Lung cancers in which it was difficult to measure GGO were selected and their clinicopathological features were investigated. RESULTS: Seventy-one (12.4%) patients had lung cancer in whom it was difficult to measure GGO. In all these cases, consolidation and GGO were not easily measured because of their scattered distribution. In this cohort, nodal metastases were not observed at all. The frequency of other pathological factors, such as lymphatic and/or vascular invasion, was significantly lower (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: This new category of lung cancer with scattered consolidation on thin-section CT scan tended to be pathologically less invasive. When lung cancer has GGO and is difficult to measure because of a scattered distribution, its prognosis could be favourable regardless of the area of GGO. This new category could be useful for the preoperative evaluation of lung cancer.
OBJECTIVES: Ground glass opacity (GGO) on thin-section computed tomography (CT) has been reported to be a favourable prognostic marker in lung cancer, and the size or area of GGO is commonly used for preoperative evaluation. However, it can sometimes be difficult to evaluate the status of GGO. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 572 consecutive patients with resected lung cancer of clinical stage IA between 2004 and 2011. All patients underwent preoperative CT and their radiological findings were reviewed. The areas of consolidation and GGO were evaluated for all lung cancers. Lung cancers were divided into three categories on the basis of the status of GGO: GGO, part solid and pure solid. Lung cancers in which it was difficult to measure GGO were selected and their clinicopathological features were investigated. RESULTS: Seventy-one (12.4%) patients had lung cancer in whom it was difficult to measure GGO. In all these cases, consolidation and GGO were not easily measured because of their scattered distribution. In this cohort, nodal metastases were not observed at all. The frequency of other pathological factors, such as lymphatic and/or vascular invasion, was significantly lower (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: This new category of lung cancer with scattered consolidation on thin-section CT scan tended to be pathologically less invasive. When lung cancer has GGO and is difficult to measure because of a scattered distribution, its prognosis could be favourable regardless of the area of GGO. This new category could be useful for the preoperative evaluation of lung cancer.
Authors: William D Travis; Elisabeth Brambilla; Masayuki Noguchi; Andrew G Nicholson; Kim R Geisinger; Yasushi Yatabe; David G Beer; Charles A Powell; Gregory J Riely; Paul E Van Schil; Kavita Garg; John H M Austin; Hisao Asamura; Valerie W Rusch; Fred R Hirsch; Giorgio Scagliotti; Tetsuya Mitsudomi; Rudolf M Huber; Yuichi Ishikawa; James Jett; Montserrat Sanchez-Cespedes; Jean-Paul Sculier; Takashi Takahashi; Masahiro Tsuboi; Johan Vansteenkiste; Ignacio Wistuba; Pan-Chyr Yang; Denise Aberle; Christian Brambilla; Douglas Flieder; Wilbur Franklin; Adi Gazdar; Michael Gould; Philip Hasleton; Douglas Henderson; Bruce Johnson; David Johnson; Keith Kerr; Keiko Kuriyama; Jin Soo Lee; Vincent A Miller; Iver Petersen; Victor Roggli; Rafael Rosell; Nagahiro Saijo; Erik Thunnissen; Ming Tsao; David Yankelewitz Journal: J Thorac Oncol Date: 2011-02 Impact factor: 15.609
Authors: Amgad El-Sherif; William E Gooding; Ricardo Santos; Brian Pettiford; Peter F Ferson; Hiran C Fernando; Susan J Urda; James D Luketich; Rodney J Landreneau Journal: Ann Thorac Surg Date: 2006-08 Impact factor: 4.330