Current Thoracic Surgery

Background: Large-cell lung carcinoma (LCLC) is a relatively aggressive tumor and constitutes a small proportion of non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of LCLC and reclassify patients according to the 2015 World Health Organization (WHO) criteria to improve the diagnosis rate of LCLC.

Materials and Methods: The clinicopathological data of 32 patients who were diagnosed as LCLC in our clinic between January 1999 and December 2016 and underwent surgery were retrospectively investigated. The 32 patients with LCLC accounted for 1.6% of the total 1935 patients who were diagnosed as having pulmonary cancer during the corresponding time period at our institution.

Results: There were 30 males and 2 females with a mean age of 56.4 (range, 39-76) years. The ratio of smoking / non-smoking patients was 22/32 (68.7%). Based on the new definition of LCLC, a total of 32 patients with LCLC were detected. 16 patients with null immunohistochemical features, 12 with no stains available, and 4 with unclear immunohistochemical features. Our 1, 3, and 5-year survival rates were 65.6%, 53.1%, and 46.9%, respectively.

Conclusions: According to the new classification, formerly diagnosed LCLCs were mostly reclassified as adenocarcinoma and non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma. LCLC, which became a more homogeneous group with the 2015 WHO classification, may significantly benefit from multimodal treatment with surgery.