Long-Term Prognosis After Segmentectomy for cT1 N0 M0 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Prognosis beyond 5 years after segmentectomy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been well studied.

This study is a retrospective analysis of a previous prospective cohort study of patients with peripheral cT1 N0 M0 NSCLC who underwent segmentectomy between 2005 and 2009. Exclusion criteria were right middle lobe tumors, multiple tumors in same lobe, patients having considerable risk for segmentectomy, and patients requesting lobectomy rather than segmentectomy. The median follow-up period was 108 months. Study outcomes included overall survival, recurrence-free probability, and local recurrence.

Of 179 patients with cT1 N0 M0 who were treated by segmentectomy, clinical T stages were Tis in 57 patients, T1mi or T1a in 34, T1b in 57, and T1c in 31. All tumors were pathologic N0 tumors. The 10-year recurrence-free probability rates in each clinical stage were 100% in Tis, 97% in T1mi or T1a, 90% in T1b, and 69% in T1c, which were significantly lower in advanced T stages (p < 0.001). Fourteen patients (8%) experienced recurrences after segmentectomy; these were local in 8 patients (five recurrences at the surgical margin and three in the preserved lobe) and nonlocal in 6 patients. Six of the eight local recurrences developed more than 5 years after segmentectomy. All eight local recurrences were treated by local therapy, resulting in 6 patients surviving without disease at 55 months of median follow-up after the additional treatments.

Although segmentectomy may be a viable curative option for treating T1 N0 M0 NSCLC, monitoring for local recurrence should be continued beyond 5 years after segmentectomy to avoid missing opportunities to effect a cure.