Surgery and Surgery Approach Affect Survival of Patients With Stage I-IIA Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Study Based SEER Database by Propensity Score Matching Analysis

The survival benefit from surgery on patients with large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma in the lung: a propensity-score matching study

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of surgery in large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNC) patients.

METHODS

A total of 453 patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database diagnosed with stage T1-4N0-2M0 LCNC from 2010 to 2015 were analyzed. The propensity-score matching analysis with a ratio of 1:1 was used to minimize the bias effect of other clinical characteristics, and 77 pairs of patients' data were performed for subsequent statistical analysis. The Cox proportional hazards model, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Log-rank test were used in the present study. The primary observational endpoint was cancer-specific survival (CSS).

RESULTS

The 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year CSS rates were 60.0%, 45.0%, and 42.0% in those 453 LCNC patients. Compared with patients who underwent surgical resection, patients without surgery had a lower 5-year CSS rate (18.0% vs. 52.0%, P < 0.001). After analyses of multivariable Cox regression, chemotherapy, T stage, N stage, and surgery were identified as independent prognostic indicators (all P < 0.05). In the cohort of old patients, the median survival time was longer in cases after surgery than those without surgery (13.0 months vs. NA, P < 0.001). Besides, in patients with different clinical characteristics, the receiving surgery was a protective prognostic factor (all hazard ratio < 1, all P < 0.05). In addition, for the cohort with stage T1-2N0-2M0, patients after the operation had more improved outcomes than patients without surgery (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

We proposed that the surgery could improve the survival outcomes of LCNC patients with stage T1-4N0-2M0. Moreover, old patients could benefit from surgery.

Excellent survival of pathological N0 small cell lung cancer patients following surgery

BACKGROUND

Current clinical guidelines recommend surgery only for cT1-2N0M0 small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients. In light of recent studies, the role of surgery in the treatment of SCLC needs to be reconsidered.

METHODS

We reviewed all SCLC patients who underwent surgery from November 2006 to April 2021. Clinicopathological characteristics were retrospectively collected from medical records. Survival analysis was performed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Independent prognostic factors were evaluated by Cox proportional hazard model.

RESULTS

196 SCLC patients undergoing surgical resection were enrolled. The 5-year overall survival for the entire cohort was 49.0% (95% CI: 40.1-58.5%). PN0 patients had significantly superior survival to pN1-2 patients (p < 0.001). The 5-year survival rate of pN0 and pN1-2 patients were 65.5% (95% CI: 54.0-80.8%) and 35.1% (95% CI: 23.3-46.6%), respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that smoking, older age, and advanced pathological T and N stages were independently associated with poor prognosis. Subgroup analyses demonstrated similar survival among pN0 SCLC patients regardless of pathological T stages (p = 0.416). Furthermore, multivariate analysis showed factors, including age, smoking history, type of surgery, and range of resection, were not independently prognostic factors for the pN0 SCLC patients.

CONCLUSION

Pathological N0 stage SCLC patients have significantly superior survival to pN1-2 patients, regardless of features, including T stage. Thorough preoperative evaluation should be applied to estimate the status of lymph node involvement to achieve better selection of patients who might be candidate for surgery. Studies with larger cohort might help verify the benefit of surgery, especially for T3/4 patients.

Advances in Intraoperative Flow Cytometry

Flow cytometry is the gold-standard laser-based technique to measure and analyze fluorescence levels of immunostaining and DNA content in individual cells. It provides a valuable tool to assess cells in the G0/G1, S, and G2/M phases, and those with polyploidy, which holds prognostic significance. Frozen section analysis is the standard intraoperative assessment for tumor margin evaluation and tumor resection. Here, we present flow cytometry as a promising technique for intraoperative tumor analysis in different pathologies, including brain tumors, leptomeningeal dissemination, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, pancreatic tumor, and hepatic cancer. Flow cytometry is a valuable tool that can provide substantial information on tumor analysis and, consequently, maximize cancer treatment and expedite patients’ survival.

The Effect of Examined Lymph Nodes and Lymph Node Ratio on Pathological Nodal Classification in the Lung Adenosquamous Carcinoma After Lobectomy

Objective

The effects of examined lymph nodes (LNs) and lymph node ratio (LNR) on pN classification and the prognosis are unclear in lung adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) patients. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the significance of LNs and LNR in the prognosis of ASC and the impact of the abovementioned factors on the pN classification.

Methods

Patients diagnosed with pathological stage T1-4N0-2M0 ASC from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database were included in the study. The primary clinical endpoint was cancer-specific survival (CSS). The optimal cutoff values of the LNs and LNR were determined. An LN indicator, including pN0 #LNs ≤9, pN0 #LNs >9, pN⁺ #LNR ≤0.53, and pN⁺ #LNR > 0.53, was developed. Concordance index (C-index) was used to compare the prognostic predictive ability between N classification and LN indicator. The univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses were used in this study.

Results

The cohort of 1,416 patients were included in the study. The level of LNs stratified the patients without metastasis of lymph nodes (pN0 #LNs ≤9 vs. pN0 #LNs >9, unadjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 1.255, P = 0.037). Two groups based on the cutoff value of LNR differentiated prognosis of patients with metastasis of lymph nodes (pN⁺ #LNR >0.53 vs. pN⁺ #LNR ≤0.53, unadjusted HR = 1.703, P = 0.001). The LN indicator had a much better predictive ability over N classification in this cohort (LN indicator: C-index = 0.615; N classification: C-index = 0.602, P = 0.001).

Conclusions

We explored clinicopathological factors affecting prognosis in resected lung ASC patients. Besides, the LN indicator was confirmed to be played an essential role in affecting the survival rate in ASC patients. The high-level LNs or low-level LNR might be corelated to improved survival outcomes.

Surgical Principles in the Management of Lung Neuroendocrine Tumors: Open Questions and Controversial Technical Issues

OPINION STATEMENT

Primary neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the lung represent a heterogeneous group of malignancies arising from the endocrine cells, involving different entities, from well differentiated to highly undifferentiated neoplasms. Because of the predominance of poorly differentiated tumors, advanced disease is observed at diagnosis in more than one third of patients making chemo- or chemoradiotherapy the only possible treatment. Complete surgical resection, as defined as anatomical resection plus systematic lymphadenectomy, becomes a reliable curative option only for that little percentage of patients presenting with stage I (N0) high-grade NETs. On the other hand, complete surgical resection is considered the mainstay treatment for localized low- and intermediate-grade NETs. Therefore, in the era of the mini-invasive surgery, their indolent behavior has suggested that parenchyma-sparing resections could be as adequate as the anatomical ones in terms of oncological outcomes, leading to discuss about the correct extent of resection and about the role of lymphadenectomy when dealing with highly differentiated NETs.