Different prognostic significance of examined lymph node count for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer ≤1 cm or >1–2 cm: a population-based study

• Published in: Future oncology (London, England) Vol. 16; no. 3; pp. 4497 - 4509
• Main Authors: Liang, Zhen, Wang, Xiaohang, Yang, Heli, Fu, Hao, Li, Meng, Feng, Zhen, Peng, Zhongmin, Wang, Hui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Future Medicine Ltd 01.01.2020
• Subjects: Classification; Codes; Epidemiology; examined lymph node count; Lung cancer; Lymphatic system; Marital status; Medical prognosis; Metastasis; Multivariate analysis; non-small-cell lung cancer; Patients; Population; Population-based studies; population-based study; prognostic factors; pT1aN0M0; pT1bN0M0; SEER database; Software; Surgery; Surveillance; United States > US; examined lymph node count; SEER database; population-based study; prognostic factors; pT1aN0M0; non-small-cell lung cancer; pT1bN0M0
• ISSN: 1479-6694; 1744-8301
• DOI: 10.2217/fon-2019-0367

This study aimed to investigate the impact of examined lymph node (ELN) count on survival of resected pT1a-1bN0M0 non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Data were extracted from the US Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database. The association between ELN count and overall survival (OS) or lung cancer–specific survival (LCSS) was investigated. A total of 9603 patients were enrolled. For the first through the fourth quartiles of pT1aN0M0 group, the 5-year OS and LCSS rates were of no statistical difference. While in pT1bN0M0 group, they were 68.7, 73.8, 76.6 and 77.8% (p < 0.001) and 80.7, 84.1, 85.9 and 87.1% (p < 0.001), respectively. X-Tile analysis showed that 4 is the optimal cutoff value for ELN count in pT1bN0M0 patients for both OS and LCSS. These findings indicated that greater number of ELNs is associated with better survival of resected pT1bN0M0 NSCLC. But a greater number of ELNs is worth to discuss for pT1aN0M0 NSCLC during surgery.