Timing of Lobectomy and Survival in Squamous Cell Lung Cancer
Posted: Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Patients with longer wait time between the diagnosis of squamous cell lung cancer and lobectomy seem to have worse survival rates than their counterparts with shorter wait times, based on recent study findings. This analysis of nearly 5000 patients with stage 1A non–small cell lung cancer by lead author Chi-Fu Jeffrey Yang, MD, of Duke University, and colleagues was published in CHEST Journal.
“These results suggest that efforts to minimize delays beyond those needed to perform a complete preoperative evaluation may improve survival,” the researchers concluded.
Researchers used the 5-year survival rate of 4984 patients who underwent lobectomies for clinical stage 1A squamous cell carcinoma, with surgery completed within 37 days of diagnosis classified as “early” and surgery at 38 days and beyond as “late.”
Using a multivariable adjustment, the researchers found surgery conducted beyond 37 days from diagnosis to be “significantly associated with worse survival,” with a hazard ratio of 1.13. “Early” surgery participants had a 61.2% survival rate compared with 55.5% from “late” participants.
Additionally, further analysis demonstrated the hazard ratio associated with time to surgery increased the longer surgery was delayed. When repeating the same analysis using 30 days as the cutoff, the team found the 5-year survival rates for patients who received surgery on or before 30 days (61.5%) was better than those who had surgery after (56.4%).
