Outcomes of Completion Lobectomy for Locoregional Recurrence after Sublobar Resection in Patients with Non-small Cell...

This retrospective study aimed to determine the treatment patterns and the surgical and oncologic outcomes after completion lobectomy (CL) in patients with locoregionally recurrent stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who previously underwent sublobar resection.

Data from 36 patients who initially underwent sublobar resection for clinical, pathological stage IA NSCLC and experienced locoregional recurrence between 2008 and 2016 were analyzed.

Thirty-six (3.6%) of 1,003 patients who underwent sublobar resection for NSCLC experienced locoregional recurrence. The patients' median age was 66.5 (range, 44-77) years at the initial operation, and 28 (77.8%) patients were men. Six (16.7%) patients underwent segmentectomy and 30 (83.3%) underwent wedge resection as the initial operation. The median follow-up from the initial operation was 56 (range, 9-150) months. Ten (27.8%) patients underwent CL, 22 (61.1%) underwent non-surgical treatments (chemotherapy, radiation, concurrent chemoradiation therapy), and 4 (11.1%) did not receive treatment or were lost to follow-up after recurrence. Patients who underwent CL experienced no significant complications or deaths. The median follow-up time after CL was 64.5 (range, 19-93) months. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and post-recurrence survival (PRS) were higher in the surgical group than in the non-surgical (p<0.001) and no-treatment groups (p<0.001).

CL is a technically demanding but safe procedure for locoregionally recurrent stage I NSCLC after sublobar resection. Patients who underwent CL had better OS and PRS than patients who underwent non-surgical treatments or no treatments; however, a larger cohort study and long-term surveillance are necessary.