A 7 mm lung adenocarcinoma with mediastinal involvement and lymphangiosis carcinomatosa: A case report

We report a case of a 46-year-old man with a 7 mm lung adenocarcinoma with mediastinal nodal involvement and lymphangiosis carcinomatosa. The resected right middle lobe contained a 7 mm well-differentiated papillary adenocarc inoma and lymphatic vessels towards the hilum were severely involved. The d isease was pathologically diagnosed as T1N2M0. Six months after the operati on, malignant pleural effusion and multiple bone metastases developed and h e died 21 months after the operation. This case indicates that even a very small-sized lung cancer, 1 cm or smaller, could be biologically highly mali gnant.