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Operative Indications for Lung Cancer with Satellite Lesions

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
¹ Department of Radiology, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Japan

For reprint information contact: Keiji Kushibe, MD Tel: 81 74 422 3051 Fax: 81 74 424 8040 Email: n-thorac{at}m3.kcn.ne.jp, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Nara 634-8522, Japan.

In deciding the surgical treatment for lung cancer, it is important to differentiate between a small satellite lesion that is probably benign, a pulmonary metastatic lesion, or a double cancer. The operative indications for lung cancer with small satellite lesions detected on preoperative helical computed tomography were retrospectively examined. We collected 43 small nodules 1 cm in diameter from 32 patients. A definitive diagnosis was made by follow-up computed tomography in 3 of 19 ipsilateral lesions and in 9 of 24 contralateral lesions. The final diagnosis of the satellite lesions was malignant in 13 and benign in 30. The 13 malignant lesions consisted of 2 pulmonary metastases and 11 double cancers. Two patients with stage IIb and IIIb disease on clinical staging of the main tumor had pulmonary metastases. Patients with clinical stage I disease had a higher probability that the small lesions were benign or double cancers than those with advanced disease beyond clinical stage I.