Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 22, 2026
Thoracoscopic Extended Right Middle Plus Lower Sleeve Lobectomy for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer
Published on: February 27, 2026
[Lung cancer measuring 1cm or less: A miniature subset requiring surgery]
M Riquet1, C Pricopi1, C Rivera1
1Service de chirurgie thoracique, université Paris Descartes, hôpital européen Georges-Pompidou, 20, rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France.
Introduction:
Lung cancer measuring 1cm or less has an apparently very good outcome. However, the characteristics permitting their oncological management are unappreciated.
Patient And Method:
We reviewed 187 patients with such a cancer (145 men and 42 women, mean age 60.2years) and studied the type of surgery performed, the pTNM, and the histological features.
Results:
Surgery (19 wedge-resections, 12 segmentectomies, 136 lobectomies, 20 pneumonectomies) was complete (R0) in 97.3%. The tumors, each precisely defined among 98 adenocarcinomas (52.4%), 83 squamous cell carcinomas (44.4%), and 6 others, measured 1mm to 10mm:<5mm (n=41), 6 to 9mm (n=43), and 10mm (n=103). There were 161 pT1 (86.1%), 22 pT2 (11.8%) and 4 pT3; 148 pN0 (79.6%), 18 pN1 (9.7%) and 20 pN2 (10.7%). pN1 and pN2 were present in tumors<5mm (12/41, 29.3%) as well as in the others (26/146, 17.8% P=0.11). Histological examination frequently discovered visceral pleura involvement (tumors:<5mm 12.2% (5/41), 6 to 9mm 7% (3/43), 10mm 13.6% (14/103), P=0.53) and lympho-vascular invasion (12.9%). Five-year survival rate (66.4%) was adversely influenced by age, type of resection, pN and histological features. The survival rate was not better in tumor<5mm.
Conclusion:
Surgical resection allows the local control of lung cancers<1cm and their complete histological study, a key issue in the therapy of the future, which renders surgery an absolute must even in very small tumors.
