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Updated: Dec 5, 2025

Endobronchial Ultrasound-guided Intratumoral Injection of Cisplatin for the Treatment of Isolated Mediastinal Recurrence of Lung Cancer
Published on: February 12, 2017
Operative invasiveness does not affect the prognosis of patients with non-small cell lung cancer
Nozomu Motono1, Shun Iwai2, Yoshihito Iijima2
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Kanazawa Medical University, 1-1 Daigaku, Uchinada, Ishikawa, 920-0293, Japan. motono@kanazawa-med.ac.jp.
Background:
The relationship between operative invasiveness and the prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who have undergone surgery has been controversial.
Methods:
Clinical data were analyzed for 463 NSCLC patients. Operative invasiveness was defined by wound length, operation time, and the postoperative C-reactive protein (postCRP) level. The operative approach was divided into video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and thoracotomy.
Results:
The wound length and operation time were significantly correlated with the postCRP level (correlation coefficient (CC) = 0.39, p < 0.01; CC = 0.54, p < 0.01, respectively). The postCRP level in the VATS group was significantly lower than that in the thoracotomy group (12.2 mg/dl vs 20.58 mg/dl, p < 0.01). The relapse-free survival differed significantly based on wound length (p < 0.01), operation time (p = 0.01), CRP level (p < 0.01), and operative approach (p < 0.01). The carcinoembryonic antigen level (hazard ratio [HR], 1.58; p = 0.02), pathological stage (pStage) (HR, 2.57; p < 0.01), vascular invasion (HR, 1.95; p = 0.01), and preoperative CRP level (preCRP) (HR, 1.91; p < 0.01) were identified as significant prognostic factors for relapse-free survival in a multivariate analysis. Furthermore, the multivariate analysis showed that smoking history (HR, 2.36; p = 0.03), pStage (HR, 3.26; p < 0.01), and preCRP level were significant prognostic factors for overall survival.
Conclusion:
Preoperative CRP level was associated with poor prognosis. Although the VATS approach might be less invasive procedure for NSCLC patients, operative invasiveness does not affect the prognosis.

