[Primary large cell carcinoma of the lung in the patients undergoing pulmonary resection: a comparison between pre- and post-operative diagnosis].

Between 1981 and 1995, 591 patients with primary lung cancer underwent operations. Of these, 19 patients (3.2%) was diagnosed as a large cell carcinoma pathologically. Clinicopathologically, we analyzed a discrepancy between pre- and post-operative diagnosis of these patients. This study showed as follows: 1) Accuracy of preoperative diagnosis was 73.7%; 2) No patients with primary site in right upper lobe had a correct diagnosis; 3) Accuracy of preoperation was not depending on tumor size; 4) In retrospective findings of the biopsied specimens, 'incomplete glandular differentation' caused preoperative diagnosis to adenocarcinoma, and modification of the specimens by pneumonia caused it to squamous cell carcinoma; 5) Inadequatespecimens originated from the right upper lobe or pneumonia lobe; 6) The five-survival rate was 27.3%.