Current Management of Carcinoid Tumor: When Is a Wedge Enough?

Thorac Surg Clin. 2023 May;33(2):159-164. doi: 10.1016/j.thorsurg.2023.01.008. Epub 2023 Feb 26.

Abstract

Bronchopulmonary carcinoid tumors are rare, well-differentiated neuroendocrine neoplasms. They can be categorized as typical or atypical lesions and are low-to-intermediate-grade, respectively. The cornerstone of therapy for carcinoid tumors is surgical resection and current consensus guidelines recommend anatomic resection for stage I to IIIA disease. The renewed interest in sublobar resections for the treatment of lung malignancies has sparked debate over the degree of resection necessary for these indolent lesions. Segmentectomy provides an oncologic resection while preserving as much lung parenchyma as possible, and is a reasonable approach to apply to small, undifferentiated, or typical carcinoid lesions.

Keywords: Anatomic resection; Bronchopulmonary carcinoid; Pulmonary neuroendocrine tumor; Segmental resection; Segmentectomy; Sublobar resection; Wedge resection.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Carcinoid Tumor* / diagnosis
  • Carcinoid Tumor* / pathology
  • Carcinoid Tumor* / surgery
  • Humans
  • Lung / pathology
  • Lung Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Pneumonectomy
  • Retrospective Studies