Micropapillary pattern of stage IIIA-N2 lung adenocarcinoma is a prognostic factor after adjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

Aim: This study aims to investigate the significance of a micropapillary pattern in stage IIIA-N2 lung adenocarcinoma after adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Patients & methods: A total of 257 patients with stage IIIA-N2 lung adenocarcinoma were enrolled in this study. Patients were classified into three groups based on the proportion of micropapillary components: micropapillary negative, micropapillary minor component and micropapillary predominant component. Results: The micropapillary predominant group had the shortest median disease-free survival and overall survival times compared with the micropapillary minor component and micropapillary negative groups (median overall survival time: 54 months vs 64 months vs not reached; p = 0.004). Furthermore, the micropapillary pattern was an independent prognostic factor for disease-free survival and overall survival (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The micropapillary pattern of IIIA-N2 lung adenocarcinoma is related to worse prognosis.