Spread Through Air Spaces in Stage I to III Resected Lung Adenocarcinomas: Should the Presence of Spread Through Air Spaces Lead to an Upstaging?

In recent years, the concept of spread through air spaces (STAS) has been discussed as an adverse prognostic factor for lung cancer. The aim of our study is to clarify the prognostic role of STAS in relation to the main recognized prognostic factors in a retrospective cohort of 330 European patients who underwent stages I to III lung adenocarcinoma resection. On univariate analysis, the presence of STAS was related to progression-free survival (PFS; hazard ratio [HR]: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.02-2.19; P = 0.038) and overall survival (OS; HR: 1.61; 95% CI: 1.03-2.52; P = 0.50). On multivariate analysis, STAS was related to PFS (HR: 1.51; 95% CI: 1.00-2.17; P = 0.050) and to OS (HR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.00-2.81; P = 0.050). We showed that the presence of STAS was associated with lower PFS, equivalent to the next pathologic T stage, especially the median PFS of T3 stages without STAS was at 62.8 months while the median PFS of T3 stages with STAS was at 15.7 months, closer to the median PFS of 17.4 months in T4 stages. To conclude, STAS is an independent prognostic factor of PFS in this European cohort and is close to significance for OS. We suggest that the presence of STAS might lead to an upstaging of lung adenocarcinoma.

A True Distal Brachial Artery Aneurysm Treated with a Bifurcated Saphenous Vein Graft.

Brachial artery aneurysms are rare, mostly consisting of false ones secondary to infectious, traumatic, or iatrogenic arterial lesions. True aneurysms of the brachial artery are even more uncommon. Here, we report a case of a 40-year-old fisherman, without any pathological antecedent, who presented with a painful pulsatile mass of the left anterior arm. There was a slight edema with no ischemic signs. The computed tomographic angiography revealed a true 3.7 × 4.2 × 6 cm aneurysm of the distal brachial artery, partially thrombosed, which extended to the bifurcation. A surgical repair was indicated. Intervention consisted of an aneurysmectomy with interposition of an autologous reversed bifurcated saphenous vein graft. Early outcome was good and a 1-year follow-up showed a patent graft with no aneurysmal recurrence. A review of the literature on this rare location of true artery aneurysm and treatment options is outlined in this work.