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Updated: Aug 18, 2026
Endoscopic Endonasal Trans-sphenoidal Approach: Minimally Invasive Surgery for Pituitary Adenomas
Published on: January 17, 2018
Surgical treatment of superior sulcus tumors
Kiyoshi Koizumi1, Shuji Haraguchi, Tomomi Hirata
1Department of Surgery II, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8603, Japan.
Purpose:
To access the clinical outcome of patients with superior sulcus tumor.
Methods:
We reviewed the records of 16 patients who underwent surgery for a superior sulcus tumor between 1988 and 2003, focusing on the type of surgery.
Results:
All 16 patients underwent en bloc lung and chest wall resection, which was done as pneumonectomy in 1 patient and lobectomy in 15. Complete resection was achieved in 11 patients, but incomplete resection was done in 5 patients because microscopic examination revealed positive surgical margins. Eight patients underwent partial vertebrectomy and 1 patient had combined resection of the subclavian artery. There was no postoperative mortality. All patients received pre- or postoperative adjuvant therapy, or both. The overall 5-year survival rate was 31.0%. The 5-year survival rate was higher after complete resection than after incomplete resection (59.3% vs 0%, P = 0.08). Patients who underwent complete resection for vertebral invasion and those who did not had 5-year survival rates of 66.7% and 0%, respectively (P = 0.17). Patients who underwent preoperative induction therapy followed by complete resection and those who did not had 5-year survival rates of 80% and 0%, respectively (P = 0.009).
Conclusion:
Although superior sulcus tumors are still complex, preoperative induction therapy followed by complete resection seemed effective for prolonging survival.
