Abstract:

Objective     To identify clinical and pathological characteristics of malignant focal ground glass opacity lung nodule (fGGON) and to select suitable candidates for curative limited resection according to the proportion of GGO. Methods    A retrospective analysis of 96 consecutive patients who underwent a complete resection for malignant fGGON was performed during the past three years. All patients were classified as three groups according to the proportion of GGO showed on preoperative CT. The pathological type and prognosis were compared among those groups. The relationships between invasive pathological type and other clinical factors were also assessed. Results   Most of malignant fGGON was adenocarcinoma in early stage. With the increase of GGO component in lung cancer, the proportion of simple bronchioloalveolar cell carcinoma (BAC) also increased (P<0.05). There was no invasive pathological type in patients with pure GGO component, but 28.1% and 44.4% were found to have invasive pathological character in those with high GGO component and low component respectively (P<0.01).The overall 3-year survival rate was 100% in general. The 3-year tumor-free survival rate was 100% for patients with pure GGO component, whereas it was 90.6% for those with high GGO component and 69.4% with low GGO component (P<0.01). Conclusion    The prognosis after operation for malignant fGGON was excellent. The index of GGO component has significant correlations with histological classification, pathologic invasiveness, and postoperative outcome of malignant fGGON. Patients with tumors that have pure GGO component are considered to be possible candidates for limited pulmonary resection.

Key words: Lung neoplasms； Focal ground glass opacity； Surgical treatment； Prognosis； Pathology