Oncologic outcomes after minimally invasive segmentectomy or lobectomy in patients with hypermetabolic clinical stage IA1-2 non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the oncologic outcome of patients with hypermetabolic tumors resected by segmentectomy or lobectomy.

METHODS

This was a retrospective analysis of all consecutive patients with peripheral clinical stage IA1-2 non-small cell lung cancer (January 2017-June 2023) who underwent resection by segmentectomy or lobectomy in a single center. A hypermetabolic tumor was defined as a tumor with a positron emission tomography (PET) maximum standardized uptake value >2.5. Propensity score case-matching analysis was used to generate 2 balanced groups of patients with hypermetabolic tumors operated by segmentectomy or lobectomy. Four-year overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS), and cancer-specific survival were compared between the matched groups.

RESULTS

A total of 164 segmentectomies and 234 lobectomies were analyzed. There were 91 (55%) hypermetabolic tumors in the segmentectomy group versus 178 in the lobectomy group (76%),  < .001. The comparison of the matched groups with hypermetabolic tumors showed a better 4-year OS after lobectomy compared with segmentectomy (lobectomy 87%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 76-93; segmentectomy, 67%; 95% CI, 49-80;  = .029). The 4-year EFS appeared to have a better trend after lobectomy (77%; 95% CI, 65-85) compared with segmentectomy (58%; 95% CI, 39-72),  = .088. The 4-year cancer-specific survival, however, was similar between the matched groups (lobectomy, 95%; 95% CI, 86-98 vs segmentectomy, 94%; 95% CI, 78-99,  = .79).

CONCLUSIONS

Early-stage peripheral hypermetabolic tumors are associated with poorer oncologic outcomes compared with less PET-avid tumors. Despite poorer OS and EFS after segmentectomy likely caused by cancer-unrelated deaths, cancer-specific survival in this high-risk group was similar after lobectomy or segmentectomy. In well-selected patients, a high PET maximum standardized uptake value should not be considered a contraindication to segmentectomy.