Optimal margins for early stage peripheral lung adenocarcinoma resection

Background A pathologically confirmed negative margin is required when performing sublobar resection in patients with early stage peripheral lung adenocarcinoma. However, the optimal margin distance to ensure complete tumor resection while preserving healthy lung tissue remains unknown. We aimed to establish a reliable distance range for negative margins. Methods A total of 52 intraoperative para-cancer tissue specimens from patients with peripheral lung adenocarcinoma with pathological tumors ≤2 cm in size were examined. Depending on the distance from the tumor edge (D), the para-cancer tissues were divided into the following five groups: D Results Group V, in which the margin was the farthest from the tumor edge, was the safest. There were significant safety differences in between groups I and V (χ2 = 26.217, P 2 = 9.420, P P = 0.207; P = 0.610). Conclusions We suggest that when performing sublobar resection in patients with early stage peripheral lung adenocarcinoma with pathological tumor sizes ≤2 cm, the resection margin distance should be ≥1 cm to ensure a negative margin.