Long-Term Prognosis of Patients With Resected Adenocarcinoma In Situ and Minimally Invasive Adenocarcinoma of the Lung

Introduction: The WHO classification of lung tumors defines adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) as cancers with no or limited histologic invasive components. The probability of patients with AIS or MIA being recurrence free for 5 years postoperatively has been found to be 100%. This study aimed to analyze the prognosis of patients with AIS or MIA after more than 5 postoperative years. Methods: We reviewed the pathologic findings of 4768 patients who underwent resection for lung cancer between 1998 and 2010. Of these, 524 patients with curative resection for AIS (207 cases, 39.5%) and MIA (317 cases, 60.5%) were included. Postoperative recurrence, survival, and development of secondary primary lung cancer (SPLC) were analyzed. Results: Of the included patients, 342 (65.3%) were of female sex, 333 (63.5%) were nonsmokers, and 229 (43.7%) underwent sublobar resection. Average pathologic total tumor diameter was 15.2 plus or minus 5.5 mm. Median postoperative follow-up period was 100 months (range: 1–237). No recurrence of lung cancer was observed for either AIS or MIA cases. Estimated 10-year postoperative disease-specific survival rates were 100% and 100% (p = 0.72), and overall survival rates were 95.3% and 97.8% (p = 0.94) for AIS and MIA cases, respectively. Estimated incidence rates of metachronous SPLC at 10 years after surgery were 5.6% and 7.7% for AIS and MIA, respectively (p = 0.45), and these were not correlated with the EGFR mutation status. Conclusions: Although the development of metachronous SPLC should be noted, the risk of recurrence is quite low at more than 5 years after resection of AIS and MIA. This finding strengthens the clinical value of distinguishing AIS and MIA from other adenocarcinomas of the lung.