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Updated: Jun 7, 2026
Thoracoscopic Extended Right Middle Plus Lower Sleeve Lobectomy for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer
Published on: February 27, 2026
Surgical resection for patients with mucinous bronchioloalveolar carcinoma
Souichi Oka1, Takeshi Hanagiri, Hidetaka Uramoto
1Second Department of Surgery, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Japan.
Background:
The clinical features of mucinous bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) have remained unclear due to the low incidence of this disease. This study investigated the clinicopathological features and the surgical outcome in patients with mucinous BAC.
Methods:
We clinicopathologically evaluated 782 patients who underwent resection for nonsmall cell carcinoma between 1999 and 2008, of whom, 13 (1.6%) demonstrated to have mucinous BAC.
Results:
The patients with mucinous BAC included six men and seven women. The mean age was 69.1 years (range: 55-78 years). Eight patients (61.5%) had a smoking habit. No patients had any subjective symptoms. The tumour diameter ranged from 1.2 cm to 10 cm. The surgical procedures included 11 lobectomies, and two partial resections of affected lobes. The pathological stage was IA in eight patients, IB in two, IIA in two, and IIIA in one. None of the patients had lymph node metastases or lymphovascular invasion. The overall postoperative 5-year survival rate was 52.5%. The 5-year survival rate according to tumour diameter was 100% in patients with tumours ≤ 3 cm, and 25.1% in patients with tumours > 3 cm. Two patients died due to pulmonary metastases, and one died from carcinomatous pleuritis and pulmonary metastases.
Conclusion:
Patients with small mucinous BAC (≤ 3 cm) in diameter showed excellent prognosis after surgical resection. However, mucinous BAC > 3 cm in diameter tended to recur with pulmonary metastasis.
