Response to Letter to the Editor: “Which Percentage of Micropapillary and Solid Histological Patterns in Lymph Node Metastases Is Significantly Associated With Poor Outcomes?”

The authors thank Niu et al. for their insightful comments. In our study 1 Li Y. Byun A.J. Choe J.K. et al. Micropapillary and solid histologic patterns in N1 and N2 lymph node metastases are independent factors of poor prognosis in patients with stages II to III lung adenocarcinoma. J Thorac Oncol. 2023; 18: 608-619 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar of 360 patients with stage II or III lung adenocarcinoma, all with N1 or N2 disease, we observed significantly better outcomes (i.e., overall survival, lung cancer-specific cumulative incidence of death, and cumulative incidence of recurrence) among patients whose lymph node (LN) metastases contained neither micropapillary (MIP) nor solid (SOL) histologic patterns; we observed significantly worse outcomes among those patients whose LN metastases had both MIP and SOL histologic patterns. In our multivariable analysis, co-presence of MIP and SOL was prognostic, even after accounting for the location (N1 versus N2) or number of involved LN stations. Which Percentage of Micropapillary and Solid Histologic Patterns in Lymph Node Metastases Is Significantly Associated With Poor Outcomes?Journal of Thoracic OncologyVol. 18Issue 7PreviewWe read with interest the article by Li et al.1 The authors' main objective was to assess whether the presence of high-grade histologic patterns including micropapillary (MIP) and solid (SOL) patterns in lymph node (LN) metastases has prognostic value. The impact of both on overall survival, lung cancer-specific mortality, and the recurrence rate was explored by stratifying MIP or SOL in LN metastasis in different patterns. This article concludes that the MIP or SOL histologic patterns in N1 or N2 LN metastases are associated with worse outcomes in patients with stage II to III lung adenocarcinoma. Full-Text PDF