Consideration of the Optimal Surgical Procedure Based on the Risk of Recurrence in Clinical Stage 0 or IA Lung Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Background/aim: Sublobar resection is widely performed for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer in the clinical setting. This study evaluated the optimal surgical procedures of clinical stage 0 or IA adenocarcinoma from the perspective of recurrence.

Patients and methods: A total of 508 lung adenocarcinoma patients diagnosed as c-stage 0 or IA were retrospectively investigated.

Results: The types of surgical procedures were lobectomy (n=328), segmentectomy (n=73), and wedge resection (n=107). Clinical T descriptors were cTis in 74, cT1mi in 68, cT1a in 94, cT1b in 181 and cT1c in 91 patients. Recurrence was observed in 46 cases (9%), including 3 (3.1%) with cT1a, 23 (12.7%) with cT1b and 20 (22.0%) with cT1c. The patients who received sublobar resection developed recurrence more often than the patients who received lobectomy among cT1b cases (10.1% vs. 21.4%) and cT1c cases (18.0% vs. 46.2%) (p=0.053 and p=0.023).

Conclusion: The cT1b and cT1c cases should be considered for lobectomy to prevent recurrence.

Keywords: Lung adenocarcinoma; TNM staging; recurrence; surgical resection.