title: Impact of adjuvant chemotherapy in completely resected stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Outcome of patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NCSLC) is generally poor, with five-year survival rate of only 23%, when patients are treated with surgery only. The presentation of positive adjuvant therapy trials in NSCLC has changed clinical practice, doubling the number of patients with completely resected NSCLC referred for adjuvant chemotherapy since 2004. Furthermore, few large studies described a large number of stage III patients in non-Asiatic patients and they showed controversial results about survival in completely resected stage IIIA NSCLC. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of adjuvant chemotherapy in completely resected stage IIIA NCSLC, administered on a routine basis, outside clinical trials.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective study of patients with stage IIIA NCSLC treated between 1990 and 2008, and included in a continuous, consecutive database. Inclusion criteria were: age >18 years, complete surgical resection, and pathologically confirmed as stage IIIA. The following clinical data were obtained: age, gender, performance status, histological type, chemotherapy regimens, status at last follow-up and hospital where the treatment occurred. Kaplan-Meier's method was used to determine actuarial survival. Differences in survival were determined by Breslow and log rank analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  According to these inclusion criteria, 415 patients were considered for the present study. The median follow-up time of all patients was 38.2 months. The adjuvant chemotherapeutic treatment affected survival significantly (P <0.001). Also the type of chemotherapeutic treatment affected survival (P ≤0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cisplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy was beneficial in patients who had a completed resected stage IIIA carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. fernandocabrao@uol.com.br.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naim Younes
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: F G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Abrao
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodrigues Pereira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001952:Bridged-Ring Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011013:Pneumonectomy; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D043823:Taxoids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014747:Vinblastine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D000077235:Vinorelbine; D000093542:Gemcitabine
chemical_list: D001952:Bridged-Ring Compounds; D043823:Taxoids; D003841:Deoxycytidine; C080625:taxane; D014747:Vinblastine; D005047:Etoposide; D002945:Cisplatin; D000077235:Vinorelbine; D000093542:Gemcitabine