Abstract
Sublobar resection is gaining popularity for the treatment of early stage lung adenocarcinoma, often presenting as a ground glass nodule on CT. Ground glass nodules are, however, a heterogeneous group of lesions, and they are too often equated with in situ or lepidic pattern adenocarcinoma. Many of these lesions actually harbor high grade micropapillary pattern and display spread through air spaces (STAS) on histology; features that are associated with increased recurrence following sublobar resection. Post hoc analysis of the impact of STAS in the JCOG0802 and CALGB140503 trials is currently ongoing and has yet to be published. This brief report aims to raise awareness of these pertinent issues that should be considered when approaching the management of early stage lung adenocarcinoma.