Pulmonary scar carcinoma: report of three cases and review of the literature.

Pulmonary scar carcinoma was described as a distinct clinicopathological entity over 50 years ago. There are many theories on the formation of this entity. We present three cases of pulmonary scar carcinoma with a high ratio of adenocarcinoma. One patient had a favorable postoperative course despite a 14-month delay in treatment. Necropsy specimen of another patient showed two primary scar carcinomas unrelated to each other. Literature review and discussion of etiology, diagnosis, and treatment modalities of pulmonary scar carcinoma were done. Pathogenesis and prognosis of the neoplasms associated with apical scars are not clearly understood.