Segmentectomy vs Lobectomy for Occult N1 in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Is Less More?

With widespread adoption of segmentectomy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the need to convert segmentectomy to lobectomy for nodal disease comes into question. We aimed to determine whether extent of resection impacts overall survival or locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS) in patients with occult N1 NSCLC.

We identified patients who underwent segmentectomy or lobectomy for NSCLC and were upstaged from cN0 to pN1 in our prospective institutional database from January 2006 to January 2023. Patients receiving neoadjuvant treatment or parenchymal resection beyond the segment(s) or lobe of interest were excluded. Propensity score weighting was used to control for potential confounders. Overall survival and LRFS were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curves and compared with log-rank tests. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate hazard ratios.

Of 185 patients with occult N1 disease, 30 (16.2%) underwent segmentectomy and 155 (83.8%) lobectomy. Patients undergoing lobectomy had larger pathologic tumor sizes than those undergoing segmentectomy (3.4 cm [interquartile range, 2.30-4.45 cm] vs 1.95 cm [interquartile range, 1.43-2.83 cm], P < .005). There was no difference in rates of adjuvant therapy between segmentectomy and lobectomy (67% vs 70%, P = .7). Median follow-up was 60 months. There were no differences in 5-year survival or LRFS between segmentectomy and lobectomy before or after propensity weighting (weighted overall survival: 79.69% vs 66.22%, log-rank P = .401). In multivariable analysis of survival and recurrence, procedure type was not a predictor of outcome.

Segmentectomy is associated with similar overall survival and LRFS to lobectomy for patients with occult N1 NSCLC.