• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.126-132
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• 2009

Purpose: We wanted to evaluate the prognostic factors for the pathologic N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who were treated by postoperative radiotherapy. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 112 pN2 NSCLC patients who underwent surgery and postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) From January 1999 to February 2008. Seventy-five (67%) patients received segmentectomy or lobectomy and 37 (33%) patients received pneumonectomy. The resection margin was negative in 94 patients, and it was positive or close in 18 patients. Chemotherapy was administered to 103 (92%) patients. Nine (8%) patients received PORT alone. The median radiation dose was 54 Gy (range, 45 to 66), and the fraction size was 1.8~2 Gy. Results: The 2-year overall survival (OS) rate was 60.2% and the disease free survival (DFS) rate was 44.7% for all the patients. Univariate analysis showed that the patients with multiple-station N2 disease had significantly reduced OS and DFS (p=0.047, p=0.007) and the patients with an advanced T stage ($\geq$T3) had significantly reduced OS and DFS (p<0.001, p=0.025). A large tumor size ($\geq$5 cm) and positive lymphovascular invasion reduced the OS (p=0.035, 0.034). Using multivariate analysis, we found that multiple-station N2 disease and an advanced T stage ($\geq$T3) significantly reduced the OS and DFS. Seventy one patients (63.4%) had recurrence of disease. The patterns of failure were loco-regional in 23 (20.5%) patients, distant failure in 62 (55.4%) and combined loco-regional and distant failure in 14 (12.5%) patients. Conclusion: Multiple involvement of mediastinal nodal stations for the pN2 NSCLC patients with PORT was a poor prognostic factor in this study. A prospective study is necessary to evaluate the N2 subclassification and to optimize the adjuvant treatment.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.428-437
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• 2000

Background : Five year survival rate of postoperative stage I non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) reaches to 66%. In the remaining one third of patients, however, cancer recurs and the overall survival of NSCLC remains dismal. To evaluate clinical and pathologic characteristics of recurred NSCLC, the patterns and factors for postoperative recurrence in patients with staged I and II NSCLC were studied. Method : A retrospective analysis was performed in 234 patients who underwent radical resection for pathologic stage I and II NSCLC. All patients who were followed up for at least one year were included in this study. Results : 1) There were 177 men and 57 women The median age was 63. The median duration of the follow up period was 732 days (range 365~1,695 days). The overall recurrence rate was 26.5%, and the recurrence occurred $358.8{\pm}239.8$ days after operation. 2) The ages of recurred NSCLC patients were higher ($63.2{\pm}8.8$ years) than those of non-recurred patients ($60.3{\pm}9.8$ years)(p=0.043). The recurrence rate was higher in stage II (46.9%) than in stage I (18.8%) NSCLC p<0.001. The size of primary lung mass was larger in recurred ($5.45{\pm}3.22\;cm$) than that of non-recurred NSCLC ($3.74{\pm}1.75\;cm$, p<0.001). Interestingly, there were no recurrent cases when the resected primary tumor was less than 2cm. 3) Distant recurrence was more frequent than locoregional recurrence (66.1% vs. 33.9%). Distant recurrence rate was higher in females and in cases of adenocarcinoma. Brain metastasis was more frequent in patients with adenocarcinoma than in those with squamous cell carcinoma (p=0.024). Conclusion: The tumor size and stage were two important factors for determining the possibility of a recurrence. Because distant brain metastasis was more frequent in patients with adenocarinoma, a prospective study should be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of preoperative brain imaging.