Surgical treatment and prognosis of bronchial carcinoid tumor

In order to understand the effect of surgery in the treatment of the bronchial carcinoid tumor and the factors affecting prognosis, 18 cases of bronchial carcinoid tumor are presented, including 5 cases with Cushing's syndrome. There were lobectomy in 10, lung wedge resection in 3, excision of intraluminal tumor of bronchus in 3, exploratory thoracotomy in 2 cases. No operation death. Pathological examination revealed 14 cases were typical carcinoid tumor and 4 cases were atypical carcinoid tumor. By 2-13 years follow-up, 3, 5 and 10 years survival rate were 82%, 78% and 70% respectively. Bronchial carcinoid tumor is often confused with small cell carcinoma of lung, the correct diagnosis can be obtained by light microscopic, electron microscopic and immunohistochemistry studies. Those patients accompanied with ectopic-ACTH secretion always have Cushing's syndrome, resection of tumor can produce good result. Proper operation method depends on the location of the tumor and patient's extent of cardiac and pulmonary reserve. Atypical carcinoid tumor had high malignancy and poor prognosis. The size of tumor, lymph node involvement and adjuvant therapy seem no definite effect on the patients' survival rate.