Impact of segmentectomy and lobectomy on non-lung cancer death in early-stage lung cancer patients

Long-term outcomes and risk factors for recurrence after lung segmentectomy

OBJECTIVES

The long-term oncological outcomes and risk factors for recurrence after lung segmentectomy are unclear. The aims of this study were to investigate the long-term prognosis and to evaluate risk factors for recurrence after segmentectomy.

METHODS

Between January 2008 and December 2012, a total of 177 patients underwent segmentectomy for clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer. The median follow-up period was 120.1 months. The overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival curves were analysed using the Kaplan-Meier method with a log-rank test. Univariable and multivariable analyses were used to identify significant factors that predicted recurrence.

RESULTS

The study included 177 patients with a median age of 67 years. The median operative time was 155 min. No 30-day deaths were observed. Nine patients (5.1%) had recurrences: loco-regional in 3, distant in 3 and both in 3. The 5-year and 10-year recurrence-free survival rates were 89.7% and 79.8%, and the OS rates were 90.9% and 80.4%, respectively. On multivariable analysis, the risk factor associated with recurrence was a pure solid tumour [hazard ratio, 23.151; 95% confidence interval 2.575-208.178; P = 0.005]. The non-pure solid tumour group had a significantly better probability of survival (5-year OS: 95.4% vs 77.2%; 10-year OS: 86.5% vs 61.8%; P < 0.0001). A total of 113 patients received preoperative positron emission tomography/computed tomography. Patients with a higher maximum standardized uptake value had a significantly higher recurrence rate.

CONCLUSIONS

Segmentectomy for clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer produced acceptable long-term outcomes. Pure solid radiographic appearance was associated with recurrence and decreased survival.

Sublobar resection is not always superior for early-stage lung cancer in high-risk patients

OBJECTIVES

The phase III trial, Japan Clinical Oncology Group 0802, illustrated the superiority of sublobar resection for early-stage lung cancer in terms of overall survival, with more non-lung cancer-related deaths after a lobectomy. The advantages of sublobar resection may be more pronounced in high-risk patients. The goal of this study was to elucidate the prognoses of high-risk patients.

METHODS

Patients with a risk of being ineligible for Japan Clinical Oncology Group 0802 for general conditions were classified as the high-risk group, and those who were not at risk of being ineligible were classified as the normal-risk group. Overall survival and prognostic factors were analysed in the high-risk group.

RESULTS

There were 254 (19.4%) and 1054 patients in the high- and normal-risk groups, respectively. Five-year survival rates were 94.5% and 79.1% in the normal-risk and high-risk groups, respectively (P < 0.001). More patients in the high-risk group died of lung cancer (P < 0.001) and non-lung cancer deaths (P < 0.001) than patients in the normal-risk group.In the high-risk group, 151 lobectomies and 103 sublobar resections were performed. There was no significant difference in the numbers of lung cancer deaths and of non-lung cancer deaths between the procedures. Stratified survival analyses showed that the diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide  < 40% tended to favour sublobar resection; being female and having a high carcinoembryonic antigen level tended to favour a lobectomy.

CONCLUSIONS

Sublobar resection is not always superior for early-stage lung cancer. Even in such cases, the surgical method should be determined by taking into consideration the patient's background and lung cancer surveillance.

Segmentectomy versus lobectomy for small-sized pure solid non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Segmentectomy has been recommended for ground glass opacity (GGO)-dominant small-sized non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or those with GGO component. Pure solid NSCLC is a special sub-type and has an inferior prognosis. Whether segmentectomy could achieve comparable long-term outcomes with lobectomy for pure solid small-sized NSCLC remained controversial. This study aimed to compare the prognosis of segmentectomy and lobectomy for pure solid NSCLC.

METHODS

NSCLC patients with a pure solid nodule (≤2 cm) who received segmentectomy or lobectomy between January 2010 and June 2019 were retrospectively screened. Log-rank test, univariable, and multivariable Cox regression analyses were used for prognostic comparison. Further, the propensity score matching analysis was adopted to yield a matched cohort.

RESULTS

After screening, 344 pure solid NSCLC patients with a median follow-up time of 56 months were reserved. Among them, 98 patients underwent segmentectomy and the other 246 subjects received lobectomy. The lobectomy group had a larger tumor size, a higher rate of lymph node metastasis than the segmentectomy arm. Generally, patients with segmentectomy had a better disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.011) and overall survival (OS) (p = 0.028) than those with lobectomy. However, the multivariable Cox regression analysis indicated that no significant survival difference existed between segmentectomy and lobectomy after adjusting the potential confounding factors (DFS: hazard ratio [HR], 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.30-1.77, p = 0.476; OS: HR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.08-1.59, p = 0.178). Consistently, in the propensity score matched cohort, segmentectomy (n = 74) yielded similar DFS (p = 0.960) and OS (p = 0.320) with lobectomy (n = 74).

CONCLUSIONS

Segmentectomy could achieve comparable oncological outcomes with lobectomy for pure solid small-sized NSCLC.