title: [The role of adjuvant therapy in the management of pN2 non-small-cell carcinoma of the lung].
abstract: Over a period of eleven years (1983-1993), the role of adjuvant chemo and/or radiotherapy was evaluated on 222 resected patients (pts) with NSCLC at atage IIIA(N2). All the patients underwent an attentive mediastinal limphoadenectomy. Fifty-five patients had a clinical mediastinal node involvement. 174 pts had a single mediastinal node station involved while 48 had two or more stations involved. One hundred and seventy-one pts (77%) underwent adjuvant therapies, consisting of citotoxic chemotherapy in 40 pts, radioterhapy in 97 pts and chemoradioterhapy in 34 pts. Follow-up lasted until September 1994. Overall 5-yr survival was 17.5%, the median being 17 months. Forty-two pts were, at that moment, still living (median 43.5 months, min 11-max 120) with 37 disease free. We verified a significant difference concerning survival among the three histologic types (p = 0.03), with the squamous achieving the best result (21.3% at 5-yrs). Surgical N2 had a better survival (20/5% at 5-yrs) than the clinical one (9%), (p = 0.01). In particular, if only one nodal station was involved, survival was 21.3% compared to 4.5% when metastases were present at two or more nodal station (p = 0.0001). Considering the level of mediastinal node involvement, the worst prognosis was linked to the carina node metastases (p = 0.02). Survival benefits were obtained by means of adjuvant therapies (20/2% vs 8.1%), (p = 0.0002). Analyzing all the pts, the best survival was achieved in those treated by surgery plus chemo-radiotherapy (32.4%), (p = 0.0001). As regards the squamous cell tumors, pts who underwent surgery plus radiotherapy had the best prognosis (24.2%), (p = 0.0026). Further, in non-squamous cell tumor, chemo-radiotherapy increased survival (45%), (p = 0.0001). At multivariate analysis, only the level of nodal involvement and the adjuvant therapy maintained their statistical significance. Our results prompt us to conclude that: 1) Squamous cell tumors and single nodal station involvement are linked to the best prognosis; 2) Squamous cell carcinoma should be treated by adjuvant radiotherapy; 3) Non-squamous tumors should undergo to chemo-radiotherapy; 4) Clinical N2 (according to our recent experience) may benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chirurgia Toracica e Radioterapia, Università degli Studi, Pisa.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chella
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lucchi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gragnani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ribechini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Silvano
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Janni
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mussi
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Angeletti
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011013:Pneumonectomy; D011379:Prognosis; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D015996:Survival Rate
vernacular_title: Ruolo delle terapie adiuvanti nel trattamento del carcinoma polmonare non a piccole cellule pN2.