Argyrophil carcinoid tumors of the lung. Incidence, clinical study, and follow-up of 46 patients.

Forty-nine patients with lung tumors initially diagnosed as carcinoids from their cellular appearance and arrangement were originally included in the study. The tumors of 46 of these patients showed an argyrophil reaction with the Grimelius silver stain. The three nonargyrophil tumors were reclassified as noncarcinoid tumors at further examination. The use of the argyrophil technique in characterization of the lung carcinoid tumors is discussed. The incidence of lung carcinoid tumors in the County of Uppsala was 0.7 patients per 100,000 inhabitants per year. Eleven patients with detected disease were symptom-free. The doctor's delay in 9 patients was 3 to 13.8 years. Yet, the prognosis was good, with 5-year survival in 91 percent, 10-year survival in 91 percent, and 15-year survival in 86 percent of the 46 surgically-treated patients. It is concluded that the surgical treatment should at least comprise a lobectomy.