Pathologic T Descriptor of Nonmucinous Lung Adenocarcinomas Now Based on Invasive Tumor Size: How Should Pathologists Measure Invasion?

Objectives: The eighth edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging manual now stratifies nonmucinous lung adenocarcinomas (nmLACAs) by the size of the invasive component only. This is determined by direct gross or microscopic measurement; however, a calculated invasive size based on the percentage of invasive growth patterns has been proposed as an alternative option.

Methods: To compare radiologic with different pathologic assessments of invasive tumor size, we retrospectively reviewed a cohort of resected nmLACAs with a part-solid appearance on computed tomography (CT) scan (n = 112).

Results: The median direct microscopic pathologic invasive measurements were not significantly different from the median calculated pathologic invasive measurements; however, the median CT invasive measurements were 0.26 cm larger than the median direct pathologic measurements (P < .001).

Conclusions: Our results show that pathologic calculated invasive tumor measurements are comparable to direct microscopic measurements of invasive tumor, thereby supporting the recommendation for use of calculated invasive tumor size by the pathologist if necessary.