Results of surgical treatment in patients with stage IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer.

From 1973 to 1989, surgical resection was performed in 235 stage IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer patients (78% of all admitted stage IIIA patients). Complete resection was accomplished in 155 patients and 80 underwent incomplete resection. The rate of incomplete resection was higher in patients with adenocarcinoma than in those with squamous cell carcinoma. There were 7 operative deaths (2.8%) among the patients undergoing operation. The five-year survival rate of the group having complete resection was 32%, whereas that of the incomplete resection group was 5% (p less than 0.05). The five-year survival rate of T3NO-1MO patients with complete resection was 50% and that of T1-2N2MO patients was 30%. However, the five-year survival rate of patients with T3N2MO disease was significantly poorer at 10% (p less than 0.05). The five-year survival rates of patients undergoing complete resection including the combined resection of an adjacent organ were: pericardium 43%; chest wall 43%; pleura 34%; and bronchus 46%. Forty-nine patients survived over three years and 10 of them died between three and five years after surgery, but five-year, four-year, and three-year survivors numbered 29, 4, and 6, respectively. Surgical resection appears to be the treatment of choice for stage IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer whenever complete resection is feasible.