• Y Yamato, M Tsuchida, T Watanabe, T Aoki, N Koizumi, H Umezu, and J Hayashi.
• Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Niigata University School of Medicine, Japan. yamato@med.niigata-u.ac.jp
• Ann. Thorac. Surg. 2001 Mar 1; 71 (3): 971-4.

BackgroundWe reported that bronchioloalveolar adenocarcinoma (BAC) without active fibroblastic proliferation of the lung had no lymph node and pulmonary metastasis and had a favorable prognosis. However, there has been no prospective trial regarding limited pulmonary resection for this type of BAC. The purpose of this study is to confirm the effectiveness of limited resection for histologically confirmed BAC without active fibroblastic proliferation.MethodsFrom 1996 through 1999, 42 patients who had small peripheral lung tumors (< or = 20 mm), suspected of being BAC, were enrolled in this trial. The patient population consisted of 24 men and 18 women with a mean age of 58.4 years. Limited resection was completed when BAC, without both active fibroblastic proliferation and lymph node metastasis, was confirmed histologically by intraoperative pathologic examination.ResultsLimited resection was completed in 36 patients, wedge resection in 34, and segmentectomy in 2 patients. In 6 patients, the procedure was converted into lobectomy because of pathologic invasive sign in 3, active fibroblastic proliferation in 1, and for other reasons in 2 patients. All patients have been followed for a median follow-up period of 30 months and are alive without sign of recurrence.ConclusionsOur early results indicate that limited resection may be an acceptable alternative to lobectomy for histologically confirmed BAC without active fibroblastic proliferation.

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