Do tumours located in basal segments have better survival than superior segments in lung cancer?

Abstract

A best evidence topic in thoracic surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was in patients with lower lobe lung cancer undergone pulmonary resection, are the tumours located in superior segments superior to the tumours in basal segments in terms of survival? We concluded that there were no statistically significant differences in survival and recurrence between superior and basal segments for lung cancer patients, but overall survival and relapse-free survival were worse in superior segment for clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the right lower lobe, and remained unclear about other stages of lung cancer. In consideration of operation procedure, we speculate that the superior segments had a relatively worse survival in patients with early-stage NSCLC who underwent segmentectomy; likewise, in patients underwent at least lobectomy, survival of the superior segments was not better than that of the basal segments.

Keywords: Basal segment; Lung cancer; Pulmonary surgery; Review; Superior segment.