title: Surgical resection and survival of patients with unsuspected single node positive lung cancer (NSCLC) invading the descending aorta.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Surgical treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with aortic invasion is still debated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirteen patients with locally advanced (T4) NSCLC and invasion of the descending aorta underwent pneumonectomy (n=9) or lobectomy (n=4) together with aorta en bloc resection and reconstruction (n=8) or subadventitial dissection (n=5), complete lymph node dissection, and had microscopic unsuspected node metastasis at N1 (n=5) and N2/3 (n=8) levels of whom 12 received radiation therapy. Clamp-and-sew was used to resect and reconstruct the aorta.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Operative mortality and morbidity rate was 0% and 23%, respectively. Four patients died of systemic tumor relapse and 2 of local recurrence. Six patients were alive after a median follow-up of 40 months (range 15-125 months). Overall 5-year survival rate was 45%. Median survival time and 5-year survival rate of patients after aortic resection was 35 months and 67%, respectively, and was 17 months and 0%, respectively, after aortic subadventi-tial dissection (p=0.001). N1 and N2 nodal status adversely affected survival, but survival difference was not significant (N1 versus N2/3; 52% versus 39% at 5 years; p=0.998).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Aortic resection with single station node positive T4 lung cancer can achieve long-term survival. The data indicate that aortic resection-reconstruction is associated with better outcome than subadventitial dissection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Clinic Loewenstein, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wex
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Graeter
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zaraca
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Decker
authors.forename: Hansanali
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bugdayev
authors.forename: Heinrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ebner