title: Surgical treatment of clinical N1 non-small cell lung cancer: ongoing controversy over diagnosis and prognosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The preoperative assessment of nodal status in lung cancer is complicated and problematic for physicians and surgeons. Although many patients with clinical N1 (cN1) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are candidates for surgical treatment, these patients represent a heterogeneous subgroup with unpredictable survival. We conducted this study to evaluate the surgical results of cN1 disease and to attempt to clarify the delicate issues surrounding its diagnosis and prognosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects of this study were 187 consecutive patients with cN1 adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, who underwent complete resection without induction therapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only 25% of the adenocarcinomas and 54% of the squamous cell carcinomas were correctly diagnosed as N1 disease preoperatively. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that adenocarcinoma (P = 0.0141) was a significant predictor of pN2. Multivariate analyses revealed that nodal metastasis (P < 0.0001), large tumor size (P = 0.0079), and high serum carcinoembryonic antigen value (P = 0.0096) were significantly poor prognostic factors in cN1 patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is difficult to diagnose nodal status in patients with cN1 disease, which requires various surgical procedures, including plasty, possibly with adjuvant therapy in a defined high-risk subgroup.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Hyogo Cancer Center for Adults, Akashi, Japan.
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyoshi
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mimura
authors.forename: Koichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iwanaga
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adachi
authors.forename: Noriaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tsubota
authors.forename: Morihito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okada
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000097:blood; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen