Long-term Outcomes of Thoracoscopic Anatomic Resections and Systematic Lymphadenectomy for Elderly High-risk Patients with Stage IB Non-small-cell Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND

To evaluate the efficacy and long-term survival outcomes of complete video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (C-VATS) for the resection of anatomic pulmonary segments and systematic lymphadenectomy in the treatment of elderly and high-risk patients with stage IB for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODS

242 elderly patients (≥65 years), who were operated on by the same operational team, were divided into high-risk group and conventional risk group from August 2008 to December 2010. All patients were diagnosed in stage IB (pT status: >2 to ≤3) NSCLC by biopsy and examination of PET-CT before operation. The high-risk patients were identified with severe cardiopulmonary and other system dysfunctions as follow-up criteria. They were treated with VATS anatomic pulmonary segments and systematic lymphadenectomy. The conventional risk patients with adequate cardiopulmonary reserve were treated with VATS radical lobectomy and systematic lymphadenectomy. The clinical and pathological data were recorded. The total survival, tumour-free survival, recurrence time and character of patients were followed-up. Appropriate statistical analyses involved the χ(2) test and Kaplan-Meier estimates of total survival and tumour-free survival.

RESULTS

A total of 242 patients underwent surgical resection during our study period: Anatomic pulmonary segments in 116 patients and lobectomy in 126. The operative time and blood loss of the VATS anatomic pulmonary segments group (78.0±35.0 min, 95.6±30.4 ml) were significantly less than those of the VATS radical resection group (108.0±25.0 min, 165.6±58.4 ml). Neither group experienced post-operative death. The overall and tumour-free survival rate of the VATS anatomic pulmonary segments group within five years were 62.07% and 29.31%, and those of the VATS radical resection group were 63.49% and 33.33%,%; there was no significant difference (P>0.5). The recurrence rates of the VATS anatomic pulmonary segment group and VATS radical resection group were 13.79% and 12.70%; there was no significant difference (P>0.5).

CONCLUSIONS

Thorascopic segmentectomy under anaesthesia and systematic lymphadenectomy is safe and minimally invasive and effective to treat a selected group of patients with stage IB NSCLC.