Pulmonary scar carcinoma. A clinicopathologic analysis.

To delineate differences between scar and non-scar pulmonary carcinoma, the charts, autopsy protocols and chest roentgenograms of 80 male patients (autopsied) between 1975 and 1980, were reviewed. Nineteen patients (24%) had documented scar carcinomas. The comparison revealed scar carcinomas to possess certain distinctive features: A higher histologic distribution of adenocarcinoma (58% versus 15% in non-scars) and the frequent presentation (53%) with only nonpulmonary symptoms and signs related to metastasis. In scar carcinomas both bronchoscopy and sputum cytology were ineffective as initial diagnostic tools since chest findings were absent or minimal. Chest x-ray was negative in 9 of the 19 patients with scar cancer and remained negative until death in seven. In 10 of 19 instances, pulmonary scar carcinomas presented with only nonpulmonary symptoms and showed a tendency to metastasize while clinically undetectable. The differences noted between scar and non-scar carcinomas of the lung appear to depend on the peripheral location of these tumors and not on the adenocarcinoma histology.