Common-sense untoward factors in lung cancer resection

Four common-sense untoward factors (age over 60, pneumonectomy, microresidual disease, and postoperative empyema) were retrospectively evaluated in a consecutive series of 199 surgically apparently complete non-oat cell lung cancer resections. By single-factor analysis all factors showed a lower survival that was contingent for microresidual disease and age over 60. For stage I tumors the negative impact on survival was significant for all except empyema, and for stage II and III tumors only for empyema. Without confounding factors, microresidual disease and age over 60 were negative prognostic factors only for distant mortality, empyema a negative prognostic factor only for early mortality, and pneumonectomy a probable negative prognostic factor for both early and distinct mortality. It is concluded that the scientific method used confirmed the prognostic assessment of common sense for these four factors.