Tumor spread through air space (STAS) is an important predictor of clinical outcome in stage IA lung adenocarcinoma

Despite an expanding armamentarium of therapies in recent years, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally (1). Approximately 80% of lung cancers diagnosed worldwide are classified as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with adenocarcinoma being the most common histologic subtype. Tumor spread through air spaces (STAS) has recently been recognized as an important pattern of tumor invasion in early stage lung adenocarcinoma (2). Indeed, multiple independent groups have determined STAS to have a significant prognostic impact on recurrence in patients with resected stage I lung adenocarcinoma (3-5).