Experience in surgical treatment of pulmonary and bronchial tumours in childhood

Abstract

From the patient material of three paediatric surgical centres and the patient material of the paediatric surgical hospitals of Zurich, Switzerland and Leipzig, GDR, 24 cases of lung and bronchial tumours are reported. The aim of this review is to show a spectrum of the cases observed in our region. The most frequent of these very rare tumours was pulmonary blastoma, followed by endobronchial adenoma in its different variants. Since only the latter can be endoscopically diagnosed, endoscopy should be carried out as early as possible when the diagnosis is not clear. Cystic lung disease seems to be particularly frequently associated with pulmonary blastomas. Uncertainties in diagnosis and therapy owing to the rareness of these diseases cause further problems.