Survival after pneumonectomy for stage iii non-small cell lung cancer

Objectives: Stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has a poor prognosis. Reports suggest that five-year survival after current treatment is between 14 to 24 percent. The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate the morbidity and mortality of patients diagnosed with stage III NSCLC and treated with pneumonectomy at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, KY. Methods: We reviewed the medical record and tumor registry follow-up data on 100 consecutive patients who underwent pneumonectomy for lung cancer at the University of Kentucky. Results: We identified thirty-six patients in stage III who underwent pneumonectomy. Ten patients had surgery only, eight patients received adjuvant chemotherapy, and eighteen patients received neoadjuvant therapy. There was one surgical death in this series. Mean follow-up was 2.9 years. One-, three-, and five-year survival was 66%, 38%, and 38%, respectively. Five-year survival for the group with adjuvant therapy was 60%. Conclusion: Most lung cancer patients present with advanced disease and the prognosis remains poor. Our experience indicates resection offers an above average chance of long-term survival when supplemented with neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant therapy.