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Updated: May 2, 2026
Thoracoscopic Extended Right Middle Plus Lower Sleeve Lobectomy for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer
Published on: February 27, 2026
Long-term survival after pneumonectomy for non-small-cell lung cancer
Rohan J Kalathiya1, Daniel Davenport, Sibu P Saha
1College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Objective:
to investigate long-term survival in patients who underwent pneumonectomy for non-small-cell lung cancer at the University of Kentucky Medical Center.
Methods:
we retrospectively reviewed 100 consecutive pneumonectomy cases from 1998 to 2009 at the University of Kentucky. We were able to obtain follow-up data on 99 of 100 patients.
Results:
overall 1-, 2-, and 5-year survival was 66%, 48%, and 32%, respectively. The 1-, 2-, and 5- survival for left pneumonectomy was 76%, 55%, and 40%, respectively, compared to 56%, 44%, and 22%, respectively, for right pneumonectomy. The median survival for left pneumonectomy was 2.4 years compared to 1.2 years for right pneumonectomy (p = 0.056). The 5-year survival for patients diagnosed with stage I disease was 34%, compared to 19% for stage II disease, and 38% for stage III disease. The 5-year survival for patients who underwent neoadjuvant therapy was 31% compared to 39% for patients who received adjuvant therapy and 29% for patients who received surgery alone. These results were also not statistically significant.
Conclusion:
neoadjuvant therapy did not adversely affect long-term survival in our study. When compared to left pneumonectomy, right pneumonectomy for non-small-cell lung cancer is associated with adverse postoperative outcomes as well as poorer long-term survival.
