We attempted to clarify what factors predominantly influence the survival of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer in each pathologic stage on the basis of information generally obtained by a pathologic examination of completely resected non-small-cell lung cancer. The subjects included 243 patients with stage I, 63 with stage II, and 108 with stage IIIA disease. Pathologic features used in the analysis were as follows: the greatest tumor size (< or = 3.0 cm versus > 3.0 cm), the histologic cell type (squamous versus nonsquamous cell carcinoma), the grade of differentiation, and tumor invasion of pleura and vessels. In stage IIIA, the extent of the metastasis to the lymph nodes was also included in the analysis. The significant prognostic factors (p < 0.05) in stage I demonstrated by a univariate analysis of the survival curves included the tumor size, the grade of differentiation (well differentiated versus moderately and poorly differentiated tumor), pleural involvement, and invasion of the artery and vein. In addition, the histologic cell type and the pleural involvement in stage II and invasion of the vein and the extent of metastasis to the lymph nodes (N0 and N1 versus N2) in stage IIIA were also found to be significant prognostic factors. A multivariate prognostic factor analysis showed that the grade of differentiation, pleural involvement, and venous invasion in stage I; the histologic cell type and pleural involvement in stage II; and venous invasion and mediastinal lymph node metastasis in stage IIIA were all predominant prognostic factors. These observations therefore suggest that a pathologic examination can identify the patients with a poor prognosis, which is different among the stages.

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Background The retrospectively compared sleeve lobectomy (SL) and pneumonectomy (PN) for lung cancer in terms of surgical complications and postoperative disease‐free survival, as well as incidence and pattern of recurrent disease. Methods From 1977 to 1993, 29 patients with primary lung cancer underwent sleeve resection at our institution. The pneumonectomy group consisted of 29 cases that had been selected during the same period according to the following criteria: (1) in a tumor located in the upper lobe, there was no invasion within 1 cm from both the carina and the orifice of the middle and the lower lobe bronchus, whereas in a tumor located in the middle or lower lobe, there was no invasion within 1 cm of the orifice of the upper bronchus, (2) there was no invasion to the trunks of the pulmonary vessels, (3) there was no invasion to any other lobes, (4) a complete resection was achieved. Results No differences were observed between the two groups regarding stage, histological population, or age. The incidence of postoperative complications was 13.7% in the SL group (2 cases each of pneumonia and arrythmia), and 24.1% in the PN group (3 bronchopulmonary fistula, 2 bleeding, 1 instance each of arrythmia and acute cardiac failure, and 2 operation‐related deaths) (P < 0.05). The 3‐year disease‐free survival was 65.7% in SL, 58.8% in PN (no statistical significance in the log‐rank test). Recurrent disease was observed in the local regions of three patients in the SL group and six patients in the PN group, and at distant organs of six patients in the SL group and seven in the PN group. Conclusions These findings thus suggest that as a curative treatment, lobectomy with bronchoplasty may be a safer procedure than pneumonectomy for lung cancer. J. Surg. Oncol. 64:32–35 © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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