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Updated: Aug 29, 2026
Thoracoscopic Extended Right Middle Plus Lower Sleeve Lobectomy for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer
Published on: February 27, 2026
Resection of multifocal non-small cell lung cancer when the bronchioloalveolar subtype is involved
Peter F Roberts1, Michaela Straznicka, Primo N Lara
1Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University California, Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, 95817, USA. peter.roberts@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Objective:
Bronchioloalveolar lung cancer is commonly multifocal and can also present with other non-small cell types. The staging and treatment of multifocal non-small cell cancer are controversial. We evaluated the current staging of multifocal bronchioloalveolar carcinoma and the therapeutic effectiveness of resection when this tumor type is involved.
Methods:
We reviewed our experience between 1992 and 2000 with complete pulmonary resections for bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were calculated from the dates of pulmonary resection.
Results:
Among 73 patients with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma, 14 patients, 7 male and 7 female with a mean age of 65 years (51-87 years), had multifocal lesions without lymph node metastases. Follow-up was 100% for a median of 5 years (range 2.6-8.5 years). Tumor distribution was unilateral in 9 patients and bilateral in 5 patients. The multifocal nature of the disease was discovered intraoperatively in 4 patients. Nine patients had 2 lesions, 4 patients had 3 lesions, and 1 patient had innumerable discrete foci in a single lobe. Operative mortality was 0. Postoperatively, 10 patients were staged pIIIB or pIV on the basis of multiple foci of similar morphology; 4 patients had some differences in histology (implying multiple stage 1 primaries). The median survival time to death from cancer was 14 months (141 days-5.6 years). The overall 5-year survival after resection of multifocal bronchioloalveolar carcinoma was 64%. Unilateral or bilateral distribution had no impact on survival.
Conclusions:
The current staging system is not prognostic for multifocal bronchioloalveolar carcinoma without lymph node metastases. Complete resection of multifocal non-small cell lung cancer when bronchioloalveolar carcinoma is a component may achieve survivals similar to that of stage I and II unifocal non-small cell lung cancer. When bronchioloalveolar carcinoma is believed to be one of the cell types in multifocal disease without lymph node metastases, consideration should be given to surgical resection.
