Purpose:

Differences between preoperative and postoperative histologic diagnoses may be noted in patients undergoing surgery for lung cancers. We investigated in this study postoperative diagnostic differences in resected non-small cell lung cancers.

Materials and Methods:

We retrospectively analyzed 93 patients (4 women) who had surgery for lung cancer between January 1995- February 1998. Bronchial biopsy was performed with fiberoptic bronchoscopy and transthoracic needle aspiration were used for diagnosis. Patients had a mean age of 54 (ranged 22-73) and had pneumonectomies (n=37), lobectomies (n=46), and bilobectomies (n=10).

Results:

Postoperative pathologic diagnosis was consistent with preoperative fiberoptic bronchoscopy in 86% and with transthoracic aspiration in 74% of time. Inconsistency of preoperative and postoperative diagnosis was noted in 17% of epidermoid carcinoma and 27% of adenocarcinoma cases. Only one patient underwent unnecessary thoracotomy and resection in this cohort.

Conclusion:

Discordanse between preoperative and postoperative diagnosis in non-small cell lung cancer histology did not affect the surgical approach or operation type very much.