Abstract
To investigate the relation between the percentage of ground-glass opacity (GGO) of peripheral small lung adenocarcinoma and Noguchi's classification or prognosis, we examined lung adenocarcinomas of 2cm or less, separated into four groups on the basis of HRCT; by the percentage of GGO area (G) in the lesion, G=100%(G100), 50%<G<100%(G75), 0%<G<=50%(G25) and G=0%(G0). 141 patients with small lung adenocarcinoma underwent operations from 1992 to 2003. All G100 (11 cases) were Noguchi's type A or B. In G75 (29 cases), there was no lymph node metastasis, however some vessel invasions were shown (ly(+) : 3.4%, v(+) : 6.9%). In G25 (55 cases), lymph node metastases were shown in 10.9% and 30.9% were ly(+), 36.4% were v(+). In G0 (46 cases), lymph node metastases were shown in 28.3% and 30.4% were ly(+), 54.3% were v(+). All G100 and G75 subjects are alive without recurrence, and the 5-year-survival rates of G25 and G0 are 77.3% and 77.6%, respectively. The percentage of GGO of small adenocarcinoma is closely connected with pathological features and prognosis, therefore it is thought to be an indicator of limited resection.
