Efficacy and Benefit of Postoperative Chemotherapy in Micropapillray or Solid Predominant Pattern in Stage IB Lung Adenocarcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Oncologic Outcomes of Thoracoscopic Segmentectomy in Patients with High-Grade Adenocarcinoma Pattern

BACKGROUND

Lung adenocarcinoma exhibits heterogeneity among different histological subtypes, with solid and micropapillary subgroups (classified as high-grade) associated with worse prognosis. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the impact of high-grade adenocarcinoma on survival in patients undergoing intentional thoracoscopic segmentectomy.

METHODS

Patients who underwent segmentectomy for clinical-stage IA non-small-cell lung cancer between 2016 and 2023 were reviewed. The adenocarcinoma population was divided and compared based on the presence of high-grade adenocarcinoma >20%, based on the 2021 WHO classification. Survival probabilities were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to test the association between survival and covariates.

RESULTS

The adenocarcinoma population included 216 patients, with high-grade adenocarcinoma >20% in 47 (21.7%). A consolidation-to-tumor ratio >0.8 was more frequent in the high-grade adenocarcinoma population. Survival analyses showed that overall (5-year OS rate 57% vs. 90%, p < 0.01), cancer-specific (5-year CSS rate 66% vs. 91%, p < 0.01) and disease-free survival (5-year DFS rate 53% vs. 75%, p < 0.01) were significantly worse in patients with high-grade adenocarcinoma. No significant differences in overall and disease-free survival were observed when compared to a contemporary cohort of lobectomy patients. Recurrence and high-grade pattern (HR 3.26, 95%CI 1.4-7.6, p < 0.01) were significant risk factors for reduced overall survival, whereas high-grade adenocarcinoma >20% (HR 2.43, 95%CI 1.25-4.71, p < 0.01) and a consolidation-to-tumor ratio >0.8 were risk factors for reduced disease-free survival.

CONCLUSIONS

The prognosis of high-grade adenocarcinoma is sub-optimal even in radically treated early-stage patients, and close monitoring and a complete bio-molecular assessment should be advisable in light of a multimodal adjuvant approach. However, the different subtypes of adenocarcinoma could be inserted as a staging parameter in future international staging systems.

Meta-analysis of the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for stage IB non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Many clinical trials have shown that postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy can provide a survival benefit for patients with stage IB non-small cell lung cancer. However, whether adjuvant chemotherapy should be routinely given after surgery remains controversial. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy versus surgery alone for stage IB non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODS

Relevant retrospective studies or randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy versus observation on the survival outcomes of NSCLC patients up to October 30, 2023 were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, VIP database, Wanfang database, and China National Knowledge Internet database. Patient survival data, population characteristics, and other relevant information were extracted, and data were analyzed using Review Manager 5.4. The primary endpoints included overall survival, disease-free survival, and recurrence-free survival.

RESULTS

A total of 13 randomized controlled trials or cohort studies including 19,442 patients were included. The results of the meta-analysis showed that postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage IB NSCLC had better overall survival (odds ratio [OR] = 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19-1.31, P < .00001) and disease-free survival or recurrence-free survival (OR = 1.57, 95% CI 1.3-1.9, P < .00001) compared with observation; and the 4-year survival rate of patients who received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy was better than the observation group (OR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.05-2.18, P = .03); and the 8-year survival rate of patients receiving postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (OR = 1.5, 95% CI 0.94-2.4, P = .09) was comparable to the observation group.

CONCLUSION

Receiving postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy improved people's survival and prolonged disease-free survival and recurrence-free survival in patients with stage IB non-small cell lung cancer compared with surgery alone.

Micropapillary or solid component predicts worse prognosis in pathological IA stage lung adenocarcinoma: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Micropapillary and solid patterns indicate worse survival in lung adenocarcinoma patients, even in pathological stage IB patients. However, whether the presence of micropapillary or solid components is related to worse prognosis in pathological IA stage lung adenocarcinoma remains unclear.

METHODS

Several databases were searched up to December 31, 2022 for relevant studies investigating the association between micropapillary and solid components and the survival of IA stage lung adenocarcinoma patients. Primary and secondary outcomes are disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS), respectively. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confident intervals (CIs) were combined, and subgroup analysis stratified by the pathological subtype and proportion of components was further performed.

RESULTS

A total of 19 studies with 12,562 cases were included. Pooled results indicated that micropapillary or solid components obviously predicted worse DFS (HR = 2.40, 95% CI: 1.96-2.94, P < .001) and OS (HR = 2.30, 95% CI: 1.68-3.15, P < .001). Subgroup analysis based on pathological subtype showed that both micropapillary and solid components were significantly associated with worse DFS (micropapillary: HR = 2.70, 95% CI: 1.70-4.28, P < .001; solid: HR = 3.98, 95% CI: 2.10-7.54, P < .001) and OS (micropapillary: HR = 2.29, 95% CI: 1.17-4.48, P = .015; solid: HR = 4.18, 95% CI: 1.72-10.17, P = .002). In addition, further subgroup analysis stratified by the proportion of micropapillary and solid components (>5%/1% or predominant) showed similar results.

CONCLUSION

Micropapillary and solid patterns predicted a significantly worse prognosis in pathological IA stage lung adenocarcinoma patients.

Does the presence of a micropapillary component predict worse prognosis in pathological stage IA lung adenocarcinoma?

Considerable evidence has verified that the micropapillary pattern is significantly associated with worse prognosis in pulmonary adenocarcinoma. However, whether the presence of a micropapillary component in pathological stage IA lung adenocarcinoma is also related to worse prognosis remains unclear up to now. The aim of this meta-analysis was to identify the prognostic role of presence of a micropapillary component in pathological stage IA lung adenocarcinoma patients. Relevant studies were searched from the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and CNKI databases and reviewed. The primary and secondary outcomes were the recurrence risk and long-term survival including the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), respectively. All statistical analysis were conducted by STATA 12.0 software. A total of 5257 lung adenocarcinoma patients at the pathological stage IA from ten retrospective studies were enrolled. The recurrence rates in pathological stage IA lung adenocarcinoma patients with and without the a micropapillary component were 32% [95% confidence interval (CI): 20%- 44%] and 7% (95% CI: 4%-10%) separately and pooled results indicated that presence of a micropapillary component was an obvious risk factor for recurrence [odds ratio (OR)= 3.41, 95% CI: 2.80-4.16, P＜0.001]. Besides, the presence of a micropapillary component was significantly related to poorer OS [hazard ratio (HR)= 2.44, 95% CI: 1.28-4.68, P = 0.007] and DFS (HR=2.60, 95% CI: 1.63-4.16, P＜0.001). Subgroup analysis focusing on invasive adenocarcinoma manifested consistent results. In pathological stage IA lung adenocarcinoma, the presence of a micropapillary component predicts obviously higher recurrence risk and worse prognosis even after focusing on invasive adenocarcinoma. However, more prospective high-quality studies are still needed to verify our findings.