Lung carcinoma with spindle and/or giant cell： a clinicopathological analysis of 17 cases

Objective： Lung carcinoma with spindle and （or） giant cell （LCSG） is a rare epithelial malignant tumor. The aim of our study is to investigate the clinicopathological and prognostic characteristics of 17 cases of LCSGs. Methods： Among 421 patients underwent resection of lung carcinomas, 17 cases of LCSG were studied for clinical, gross and histological parameters. Follow-up information was obtained and analyzed to clarify prognostically significant parameters. Results： The LCSG patients consisted of 15 males and 2 females, with the age ranging from 45 to 78 years （median, 58 years）; 5 cases of stage Ⅰ, 3 of stage Ⅱ, 9 of stage Ⅲ by pathological TNM staging; 2 cases of exclusively spindle cell carcinoma, 5 cases of lung carcinoma with spindle cell, 10 cases of lung carcinoma with giant-cell carcinoma. Cough, chest distress, or chest pain were the most common presenting symptoms, occurring in 15 patients （88.2%）. Of 5 patients in stage Ⅰ, 4 were alive and free of relapse for more than 5 years. The difference in survival was statistically significant between LCSG and squamous cell carcinoma patients （median survival, 36 vs. 61 months; P = 0.027）. Lymph node metastasis and carcinoma with giant cell were the hazardous factors impacting postoperative prognosis of LCSG patients. Conclusion： LCSG patients in early stage may have an optimistic outcome. Lung carcinomas with giant cell displayed multiple cell components in histopathology, and poor outcome due to more lymph node involved.