Evaluation of short-term and long-term efficacy of surgical and non-surgical treatment in patients with early-stage small cell lung cancer: A comparative study

Closing the RCT Gap-A Large Meta-Analysis on the Role of Surgery in Stage I-III Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

INTRODUCTION

Despite clear guideline recommendations, surgery is not consistently carried out as part of multimodal therapy in stage I small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients. The role of surgery in stages II and III is even more controversial. In the absence of current randomized control trials (RCT), we performed a meta-analysis comparing surgery versus non-surgical treatment in stage I to III SCLC patients.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature was conducted on 1 July 2023, focusing on studies pertaining to the impact of surgery on small cell lung cancer (SCLC). These studies were evaluated using the ROBINS-I tool. Statistical analyses, including I² tests, Q-statistics, DerSimonian-Laird tests, and Egger regression, were performed to assess the data. In addition, 5-year survival rates were analyzed. The meta-analysis was conducted according to PRISMA standards.

RESULTS

Among the 6826 records identified, 10 original studies encompassing a collective cohort of 95,323 patients were incorporated into this meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was observed across the included studies, with no discernible indication of publication bias. Analysis of patient characteristics revealed no significant differences between the two groups (p-value > 0.05). The 5-year survival rates in a combined analysis of patients in stages I-III were 39.6 ± 15.3% for the 'surgery group' and 16.7 ± 12.7% for the 'non-surgery group' (p-value < 0.0001). SCLC patients in stages II and III treated outside the guideline with surgery had a significantly better 5-year survival compared to non-surgery controls (36.3 ± 20.2% vs. 20.2 ± 17.0%; p-value = 0.043).

CONCLUSIONS

In the absence of current RCTs, this meta-analysis provides robust suggestions that surgery might significantly improve survival in all SCLC stages. Non-surgical therapy could lead to a shortening of life. The feasibility of surgery in non-metastatic SCLC should always be evaluated as part of a multimodal treatment.

Redefining the role of surgery in early small-cell lung cancer

PURPOSE

Resection is guideline recommended in stage I small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) but not in stage II. In this stage, patients are treated with a non-surgical approach. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the role of surgery in both SCLC stages. Surgically treated patients were compared to non-surgical controls. Five-year survival rates were analysed.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was performed on December 01, 2021 in Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library. Studies published since 2004 on the effect of surgery in SCLC were considered and assessed using ROBINS-I. We preformed I²-tests, Q-statistics, DerSimonian-Laird tests and Egger-regression. The meta-analysis was conducted according to PRISMA.

RESULTS

Out of 6826 records, we identified seven original studies with a total of 15,170 patients that met our inclusion criteria. We found heterogeneity between these studies and ruled out any publication bias. Patient characteristics did not significantly differ between the two groups (p-value > 0.05). The 5-year survival rates in stage I were 47.4 ± 11.6% for the 'surgery group' and 21.7 ± 11.3% for the 'non-surgery group' (p-value = 0.0006). Our analysis of stage II SCLC revealed a significant survival benefit after surgery (40.2 ± 21.6% versus 21.2 ± 17.3%; p-value = 0.0474).

CONCLUSION

Based on our data, the role of surgery in stage I and II SCLC is robust, since it improves the long-term survival in both stages significantly. Hence, feasibility of surgery as a priority treatment should always be evaluated not only in stage I SCLC but also in stage II, for which guideline recommendations might have to be reassessed.

New perspectives in the management of small cell lung cancer

The treatment of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a challenge for all specialists involved. New treatments have been added to the therapeutic armamentarium in recent months, but efforts must continue to improve both survival and quality of life. Advances in surgery and radiotherapy have resulted in prolonged survival times and fewer complications, while more careful patient selection has led to increased staging accuracy. Developments in the field of systemic therapy have resulted in changes to clinical guidelines and the management of patients with advanced disease, mainly with the introduction of immunotherapy. In this article, we describe recent improvements in the management of patients with SCLC, review current treatments, and discuss future lines of research.

Prognostic factors of patients with small cell lung cancer after surgical treatment

Background

The current National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend surgical treatment for patients with stages I–IIA small cell lung cancer (SCLC), but it still cannot deny the effect of surgical treatment on other limited-stage SCLC. Although more advanced diagnostic methods are now used for the diagnosis and classification of SCLC, the selection of surgical candidates is still arbitrary.

Methods

Data were collected from patients with SCLC who underwent surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2011 to January 2021. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate cumulative survival curves, and log-rank test was used to evaluate differences among different subgroups. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to assess the predictive power of the variables for prognosis and survival.

Results

Smoking index, surgical resection method, TNM stage of postoperative pathology, and postoperative chemotherapy were significantly correlated with postoperative survival (P<0.05), which were independent predictors for postoperative survival. Patients with a smoking index >800 had a higher risk of death after surgery [hazard ratio (HR): 7.050, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.079–16.143, P<0.001]. Compared with patients who underwent pulmonary lobectomy, those who underwent other pneumoresections (e.g., wedge resection, segmental resection, sleeve resection) had an increased risk of death (HR: 2.822, 95% CI: 1.030–7.734, P=0.044). Compared with stage I patients, stage II and stage III patients had an increased risk of death, with HRs of 6.039 and 3.145, respectively. Compared with those who received ≤4 courses of postoperative chemotherapy, those who received >4 courses of postoperative chemotherapy had reduced postoperative mortality risk (HR: 0.211, 95% CI: 0.097–0.459, P<0.001).

Conclusions

A high smoking index suggests worse prognosis; therefore, patients who smoke should be advised to quit smoking. Compared with stage II and stage III patients, surgical treatment is recommended for stage I SCLC patients. TNM staging, especially N staging, should be evaluated prior to surgery. Pulmonary lobectomy with mediastinal lymph node dissection should be the preferred surgical treatment for patients with SCLC. Patients should receive at least 5 courses of adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery.

The role of surgery in stage I to III small cell lung cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

The role of surgery in treating small cell lung cancer (SCLC) remains controversial. This meta-analysis aims to determine whether surgical-based treatment improves survival in comparison to radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and chemoradiotherapy for stage I to III SCLC.

Methods

PubMed, PubMed Central, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched for relevant articles. The main outcome were overall survival (OS), reported as hazard ratios (HRs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

Two randomized control trials (RCTs) and 13 retrospective studies that included a total of 41,483 patients were eligible. Surgical resection significantly improved OS when compared to non-surgical treatment in retrospective studies (HR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.49–0.64, P < 0.001), but not in the 2 “older” RCTs (HR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.32–1.84, P = 0.55). In the subgroup analysis for retrospective studies, surgical resection was associated with superior OS in stage I (HR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.49–0.64, P < 0.001), stage II (HR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.57–0.99, P = 0.04), and stage III diseases (HR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.56–0.88, P = 0.002). Sublobar resection resulted in worse OS than a lobectomy (HR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.56–0.74, P < 0.001) for patients undergoing surgical resection.

Conclusions

Surgery-based multi-modality treatment appears to be associated with a favorable survival advantage in stage I and selected stage II to III SCLC. Lobectomy is likely to provide superior OS when compared to sublobar resection. Further prospective RCTs are needed to confirm these findings.

Efficacy of surgery and prophylactic cranial irradiation in stage II and III small cell lung cancer

Background: The role of surgery for stage II and III small cell lung cancer (SCLC) remains controversial. The use of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) for resected SCLC was limited. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of surgery in patients with stage II and III SCLC, and evaluate the value of PCI on resected disease. Methods: A total of 269 consecutive patients with stage II-IIIA SCLC were retrospectively reviewed from January 2010 to December 2015. Of these, 116 patients received surgical resection, and 153 underwent non-surgical treatment. Resected patients were matched 1:1 with non-surgical patients (n=70 in each group). Results: The median follow-up was 30 months. The 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) for matched patients were 80.0%, 44.3% and 31.7% in surgical group, and 80.0%, 24.3% and 20.0% in non-surgical group (P=0.009), respectively. Multivariate analysis in matched patients showed that surgery (HR=0.603, 95%CI: 0.404-0.900) and PCI (HR=0.637, 95%CI: 0.427-0.950) were independent prognostic factors for OS. In subgroup analysis, OS benefit related to surgery was marginal for stage II (P=0.09) and IIIA patients (P=0.061), but was significant for selected stage IIIA patients who received adjuvant chemo-radiation and PCI (P=0.01). PCI was associated with improved OS for non-surgical patients (P=0.036), and stage IIIA of surgical patients (P=0.047). Conclusions: These findings suggest a potential OS benefit of surgery in stages II and IIIA patients, particularly in selected stage IIIA patients who received adjuvant chemo-radiation and PCI. The use of PCI for surgical patients with stage IIIA was associated with improved OS.

Adjuvant Chemotherapy Following Surgical Resection Improves Survival in Patients With Early Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of resection coupled with standard chemotherapy on the survival prognosis of patients with early stage small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). Patients (n = 110) with mediastinal lymph node-negative SCLC were enrolled in this study. The baseline clinical data of patients with surgery were retrospectively reviewed. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were measured by Kaplan-Meier and log-rank test analyses. Ninety-eight patients received mediastinoscopy biopsy, and pulmonary lobectomy or sublobar resection, and 67 patients underwent adjuvant chemotherapy after pulmonary lobectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy after surgical intervention was associated with longer OS (median OS: 42.14 vs. 33.53 months, p = 0.01) and PFS (median PFS: 25.20 vs. 13.48 months, p = 0.000) compared to resection alone for all patients. Adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with improvement of survival for N1 patients with stage II (median OS: 36.42 vs. 26.68 months, p = 0.021). The median PFS was 19.02 m (16.08, 21.96) and 13.25 m (10.19, 16.30) (p = 0.031), respectively, for patients of N1 stage who received chemotherapy and those who did not. Cox regression analysis demonstrated that age, TNM stage (N stage, not T stage), and chemotherapy were independent risk factors that might affect overall survival in patients with mediastinal lymph node-negative SCLC. These findings suggest that the application of adjuvant chemotherapy following pulmonary lobectomy is associated with improvements of survival prognoses for patients with SCLC. The combination of surgical intervention with conventional therapy should be taken into consideration as a prospective multidisciplinary regimen for early stage SCLC.