[Analysis of T1N0M0 nonsmall cell lung cancer undergoing surgical resection without mediastinal lymph node...

Eleven patients of T1N0M0 non-small cell lung cancer underwent relatively non-curative surgical resection without mediastinal lymph node dissection (the undissected group). The 5 year survival rate of this group was 70.7% and no significant difference in survival was found between the undissected group and the patients of T1N0M0 non-small cell lung cancer undergoing absolutely curative surgical resection (the dissected group). No patient died of pneumonia in the undissected group, while 4 aged patients in the dissected group died of pneumonia. This may suggest that mediastinal lymph node dissection is also injurious in distant period after surgery, especially in the aged patient. So "simple lobectomy" without mediastinal lymph node dissection may be considered as an elective procedure in the poor risk patient such as the aged, who has an early staged non-small cell lung cancer.