Poor survival for veterans with pathologic stage I non-small-cell lung cancer.
BACKGROUND
Pathologic stage (pStage) IA and IB non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has a median survival time of 119 and 81 months, respectively. We describe the outcomes of veterans with pStage I NSCLC.


METHODS
A retrospective review of 78 patients with pStage I NSCLC who underwent cancer resection was performed at the Tennessee Valley Veterans Affairs Hospital between 2005 and 2010. All-cause 30-day, 90-day, and overall mortality were determined. Survival was assessed with the Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards methods.


RESULTS
There were 55 (71%) pStage IA and 23 (29%) IB patients. Thirty- and 90-day mortality was 3.8% (3 of 78) and 6.4% (5 of 78), respectively. Median survival was 59 and 28 months for pStage 1A and 1B, respectively. Postoperative events were associated with impaired survival on multivariable analysis (hazard ratio, 1.26, P = .03).


CONCLUSIONS
Veterans with pStage I NSCLC at our institution have poorer survival than the general population. More research is needed to determine the etiology of this disparity.
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
Jamii B
JB
St Julien
Rhonda
R
Pinkerman
Melinda C
MC
Aldrich
Heidi
H
Chen
Stephen A
SA
Deppen
Carol
C
Callaway-Lane
Pierre
P
Massion
Joe B
JB
Putnam
Eric S
ES
Lambright
Jonathan C
JC
Nesbitt
Eric L
EL
Grogan
D000368:Aged; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011013:Pneumonectomy / Q000401:mortality*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013714:Tennessee; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D058014:Veterans Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*