[Impact of the number of resected and involved lymph nodes on the outcome in patients with stage II non-small cell lung cancer].
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate if factors associated with dissected lymph nodes affect the outcome of completely resected stage II (T1-2N1) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).


METHODS
Clinical data of 121 patients with complete resection of stage II NSCLC in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer center from January 1998 to December 2004 were reviewed retrospectively and the effect of factors of dissected lymph nodes on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of NSCLC was analyzed.


RESULTS
The univariate analysis demonstrated that the total number of removed lymph nodes, the number of involved N1 lymph nodes, the ratio of involved N1 lymph nodes and the total number of removed N2 lymph nodes were significant prognostic factors for OS. In the multivariate analysis, the total number of removed lymph nodes and the number of involved N1 lymph nodes were independent prognostic factors for OS. In both of univariate and multivariate analyses, tumor size, the total number of removed lymph nodes and the number of involved N1 lymph nodes were independent prognostic factors for DFS.


CONCLUSIONS
For patients with completely resectable stage II NSCLC, 10 or more lymph nodes should be removed at the surgical resection. Total number of removed lymph nodes >or= 10 is a favorable prognostic factor and involved N1 >or= 3 is an adverse one.
Dai
Yun
Y
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Lung Cancer Research Center, Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangzhou 510060, China.
Long
Hao
H
Lin
Peng
P
Fu
Jian-Hua
JH
Zhang
Lan-Jun
LJ
Zhu
Zhi-Hua
ZH
Zhang
Xu
X
Rong
Tie-Hua
TH
Su
Xiao-Dong
XD
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011013:Pneumonectomy; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate