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Surgical treatment of clinical N1 non-small cell lung cancer: Ongoing controversy over diagnosis and prognosis

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Abstract

Purpose

The preoperative assessment of nodal status in lung cancer is complicated and problematic for physicians and surgeons. Although many patients with clinical N1 (cN1) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are candidates for surgical treatment, these patients represent a heterogeneous subgroup with unpredictable survival. We conducted this study to evaluate the surgical results of cN1 disease and to attempt to clarify the delicate issues surrounding its diagnosis and prognosis.

Methods

The subjects of this study were 187 consecutive patients with cN1 adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, who underwent complete resection without induction therapy.

Results

Only 25% of the adenocarcinomas and 54% of the squamous cell carcinomas were correctly diagnosed as N1 disease preoperatively. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that adenocarcinoma (P = 0.0141) was a significant predictor of pN2. Multivariate analyses revealed that nodal metastasis (P < 0.0001), large tumor size (P = 0.0079), and high serum carcinoembryonic antigen value (P = 0.0096) were significantly poor prognostic factors in cN1 patients.

Conclusions

It is difficult to diagnose nodal status in patients with cN1 disease, which requires various surgical procedures, including plasty, possibly with adjuvant therapy in a defined high-risk subgroup.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Thoracic Surgery, Hyogo Cancer Center for Adults, Akashi, Japan

    Kei Miyoshi, Takeshi Mimura, Koichiro Iwanaga, Noriaki Tsubota & Morihito Okada

  2. Department of Surgery and Oncology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Kei Miyoshi

  3. Department of Surgical Oncology, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan

    Takeshi Mimura & Morihito Okada

  4. Department of Radiology, Hyogo Cancer Center, Akashi, Japan

    Shuji Adachi

Authors
  1. Kei Miyoshi
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  2. Takeshi Mimura
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  3. Koichiro Iwanaga
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  4. Shuji Adachi
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  5. Noriaki Tsubota
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  6. Morihito Okada
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Miyoshi, K., Mimura, T., Iwanaga, K. et al. Surgical treatment of clinical N1 non-small cell lung cancer: Ongoing controversy over diagnosis and prognosis. Surg Today 40, 428–432 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-008-4072-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-008-4072-4

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