Correlations of Thin-Section Computed Tomographic, Histopathological, and Clinical Findings of Adenocarcinoma With a Bubblelike Appearance

Abstract

We reported that adenocarcinomas with a bubblelike appearance (BLA) appear similar to old inflammation (J Comput Assist Tomogr 2009;33:42-48). The histopathological, clinical, and biological characteristics of adenocarcinomas with BLA need more investigation. We retrospectively reviewed the records of 26 patients who had undergone surgical resection between 1993 and 2008. We analyzed correlations between thin-section computed tomographic (TS-CT), histopathological, and clinical findings. We analyzed epidermal growth factor receptor and K-ras gene mutations. The TS-CT findings are unique with one pattern that was the same in all the 26 cases: (1) polygonal with straight and concave margins, (2) slight peripheral ground-glass opacity areas, (3) 3 or more dilated air bronchograms, and (4) clear pleural indentations. The histopathological findings were identical with our TS-CT findings. The mean tumor doubling time was 1165 days. Epidermal growth factor receptor mutations were observed in 17 cases. There were no K-ras mutations. After resection, the 5-year survival rate is 100%. The adenocarcinomas with BLA have unique TS-CT, histopathological, and clinical findings.