title: Complete response following preoperative chemotherapy for resectable non-small cell lung cancer: accuracy of clinical assessment using the French trial database.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pathologic complete response (CR) to preoperative chemotherapy has been shown to be a strong prognostic factor in resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This preoperative setting offers the opportunity to evaluate the clinical prediction of CR by investigators and an evaluation committee (EC) using the "gold standard" pathologic examination as the reference. The only published large randomized trial of preoperative chemotherapy (to our knowledge), the French neoadjuvant study, constitutes an interesting database to evaluate CT scan-based CR assessment. STUDY OBJECTIVES AND DESIGN: The French trial compared mitomycin-ifosfamide-cisplatin followed by surgery with surgery alone in stage I (except T1N0) to IIIa resectable NSCLC. Response was prospectively assessed in all patients receiving preoperative chemotherapy by the investigator in charge of the patient and by an EC, and was compared with pathologic postoperative data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the preoperative chemotherapy study, 167 patients were operated on. Nineteen patients were found to have a pathologic CR. Only seven patients were classified as having a CR by investigators and five patients by the EC. Evaluation of CR was correct in six of these seven cases and in three of these five cases, respectively. Sensitivity of the CR diagnosis was 31.6% for investigators and 15.8% for the EC. Specificities of the CR diagnosis were 99.4% and 98.8%, respectively. Positive predictive values were 85.7% and 60%, respectively. Negative predictive values were 91.9% and 90.1%, respectively. Accuracies were 91.6% and 89.2%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Investigator assessment of CR was highly predictive of pathologic CR. However, this study showed that clinical CT scan-based assessment, whether performed by investigators or the EC, underestimated the frequency of CR after preoperative chemotherapy in resectable NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Tenon University Hospital, CancerEst, Paris, France. bernard.milleron@tnn.ap-hop-paris.fr
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Milleron
authors.forename: Virginie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Westeel
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Quoix
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moro-Sibilot
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lebeau
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Depierre
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019992:Databases as Topic; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007069:Ifosfamide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D016685:Mitomycin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011013:Pneumonectomy; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012074:Remission Induction; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D016685:Mitomycin; D002945:Cisplatin; D007069:Ifosfamide