Bronchoplastic Procedure Versus Pneumonectomy After High-dose Radiation for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Salvage surgery and conversion surgery for patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer: a narrative review

Nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. With the development of screening, patient selection, and treatment strategies, patients' survival outcomes and living quality significantly improved. However, some patients still have local recurrence or residual tumors after receiving definitive therapies. Salvage surgery has been regarded as an effective option for recurrent or residual NSCLC, but its effectiveness remains undetermined. Furthermore, conversion surgery is a special type of salvage surgery for tumors converted from 'initially unresectable' to 'potentially resectable' status due to a favorable response to systemic treatments. Although conversion surgery is a promising curative procedure for advanced NSCLC, its concept and clinical value remain unfamiliar to clinicians. In this narrative review, we provided an overview of the safety and efficacy of salvage surgery, especially salvage surgery after sublobar resection in early-stage NSCLC. More importantly, we highlighted the concept and value of conversion surgery after systemic treatment in advanced NSCLC to gain some insights into its role in the treatment of lung cancer.

Salvage extended surgery after immune-checkpoint inhibitor treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer

PURPOSE

We evaluated the surgical outcomes of salvage extended surgery after definitive medical treatment with an immune-checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) for locally advanced or unresectable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODS

The subjects of this single-center retrospective analysis were 14 patients who underwent salvage surgery after ICI treatment between May, 2017 and April, 2023 at our institute. We reviewed the comprehensive surgical outcomes, including operative procedures, intraoperative findings, and postoperative morbidities. Overall survival (OS) was calculated using a Kaplan-Meier estimation.

RESULTS

The initial clinical stage before medical treatment (c-stage) was stage III in eight patients, stage IV in five patients, and one patient had postoperative lung cancer recurrence. The indications for surgery were as follows: local control for relapse or residual tumor in ten patients and discontinuation of systemic therapy because of treatment-related complications in four patients. The surgical modes were segmentectomy (n = 1), lobectomy (n = 4), bilobectomy (n = 3), pneumonectomy (n = 6), and bronchoplasty (n = 7). Grade 3 or higher postoperative morbidities were observed in six patients, including only one case of 90-day mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Our series demonstrated that the surgical outcome of salvage extended surgery after ICI therapy may be positive with careful selection of the procedure and indication.

Surgical Outcome after Sleeve Pneumonectomy for Thoracic Malignancy: A Comparison Between Salvage and Non-salvage

Objectives

Tumors invading the tracheobronchial angle or carina have long presented a challenge due to the complexity of airway reconstruction and management; thus, few medical centers have developed experience with this type of surgery. In this report, we review our experience with Sleeve Pneumonectomy (SP) and analyze both operative risks and outcomes.

Materials and Methods

A retrospective review identified 34 patients who underwent SP: 19 underwent salvage SP and 15 underwent non-salvage SP. Salvage surgery was performed for recurrent lung cancer after chemoradiotherapy and could be considered if there were no other therapeutic options or in the presence of urgent symptoms, such as hemoptysis, obstructive pneumonia, superior vena cava syndrome, or tracheoesophageal fistula.The perioperative morbidity and oncological outcomes of salvage and non-salvage SP were analyzed.

Results

Most cases were of lung cancer, whereas salvage SP included one case of SVC syndrome due to metastasis of colon cancer and one case of hemoptysis due to metastasis of leiomyosarcoma. Complications occurred in 47% of the non-salvage SP cases and 53% of the salvage SP cases. The 30-day mortality rates were zero in the non-salvage cases and 11% in the salvage cases. The 90-day mortality rates were 20% and 16% in the non-salvage and salvage groups, respectively.

Conclusions

The salvage of SP after chemoradiotherapy or in the presence of urgent symptoms is feasible. We believe that it can be an option that improves quality of life (QOL) through longer desease-free survival (DFS) and alleviation of symptoms, rather than waiting for tumor growth progression and exacerbation of symptoms.

Safety and efficacy of salvage surgery for non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective study of 46 patients from four Keio-affiliated hospitals

OBJECTIVES

Advances in drug therapy and radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer resulted in an increased number of salvage surgeries for initially unresectable tumors. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of salvage surgery for non-small cell lung cancer.

METHODS

We defined salvage surgery as (1) surgery for local recurrence/residual tumor after definitive chemoradiotherapy/radiotherapy (salvage surgery in a narrow sense) or (2) conversion surgery after non-surgical treatment. We retrospectively analyzed patients who underwent salvage surgery at four Keio University-affiliated hospitals.

RESULTS

Forty-six patients were included. The initial clinical stage was I in 4 patients (9%), III in 19 (41%), and IV in 23 (48%). Initial treatment before salvage surgery was chemoradiotherapy in 10 patients (24%), radiotherapy in 4 (9%), and drug therapy in 32 (67%). Pneumonectomy, lobectomy, segmentectomy, and wedge resection were performed in 2 (4%), 37 (80%), 3 (7%), and 4 (9%) patients, respectively. Complete resection was achieved in 41 patients (89%). Postoperative complications occurred in 11 patients (24%). Initial chemoradiotherapy/radiotherapy was an independent predictor of postoperative complications (odds ratio 10, p = 0.03). The 30- and 90-day mortality rates were 0 and 2%, respectively. The 5-year overall and progression-free survival rates were 66 and 30%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The safety and efficacy of salvage surgery for non-small cell lung cancer were acceptable. Salvage surgery was a viable treatment option for selected patients with recurrent/residual tumors after non-surgical treatments.