Early detection and early treatment of lung cancer: risks and benefits

The paper by Zhu and colleagues (1) on the clinical characteristics of primary peripheral lung adenocarcinomas is notable for showing that lesions up to 1 cm in diameter have different clinical characteristics to, and better survival than, lesions 1.1–2.0 cm. The authors coined the term “micro-sized” to describe these adenocarcinomas up to 1 cm, and suggested they might be adequately treated by sublobar resection without mediastinal lymph node dissection.