|
|
||||||||
a Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Georges Pompidou European Hospital and Paris Descartes University, Paris, France
b Department of Pathology, Georges Pompidou European Hospital and Paris Descartes University, Paris, France
c Department of Medical Oncology, Georges Pompidou European Hospital and Paris Descartes University, Paris, France
d Cedar Surgical Centre, Boisguillaume, France
Accepted for publication May 15, 2008.
* Address correspondence to Dr Riquet, Thoracic Surgery Department, Georges Pompidou European Hospital, 20 rue Leblanc, Paris, 75015, France (Email: marc.riquet{at}egp.aphp.fr).
| Abstract |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Methods: We reviewed 234 patients (194 male and 40 female, from 37 to 83 years of age) with synchronous and metachronous non–small cell MLC. Surgery consisted of a potentially curative complete resection with lymphadenectomy. Patients with similar histologic MLC (considered as metastasis) were compared with those with different histologic classification in terms of MLC chronology, type of resection, pT and pN, stage, and overall survival.
Results: There were 116 metachronous (ipsilateral, n = 48; contralateral, n = 68) and 118 synchronous MLCs (bilateral, n = 10; same lobe, n = 57; other lobe, n = 51). Pneumonectomy was performed in 77 patients, lobectomy in 103, and lesser resection in 54. Histologic classification was similar in 57.9% of patients and different in 42.1%. The 5-year survival rates tended to be lower in patients with synchronous MLCs (23.4% versus 31.6%; p = 0.07). They were higher when synchronous MLCs were located in the same lobe than if they were located in another lobe (29.9% versus 15.6%; p = 0.022). Whatever the type of MLC, the 5-year survival rates were not correlated with similar or different histologic classification.
Conclusions: Our analysis supports that surgery is safe and warranted in MLC patients even if synchronous MLCs present ominously. Changing the staging by establishing the diagnosis of metastasis is probably an important issue warranting further biologic research, but according to our results this diagnosis must not in any case preclude surgery.
| Introduction |
|---|
|
|
|---|
| Patients and Methods |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Methods
The 234 MLC patients were divided in MMLCs, diagnosed during follow-up, and SMLCs, diagnosed at workup or during surgery. They were compared with the 2,696 patients with lung cancer without prior malignancy (WPMLC). Each group was analyzed and compared with the other group in terms of the following variables: age; sex; anatomic location of the MLC; type of surgical resection; pathologic tumor (pT), nodes (pN), and stage [17]; histology; and overall survival. Metachronous MLCs were further analyzed according to the time interval criterion proposed by Martini and Melamed [15] (inferior or superior at 2 years), and the SMLCs according to their location within lungs (same lobe or other lobe). Both groups of MLCs were also analyzed according to histology: similar histology being considered as potentially metastasis, and different histology as second primary NSCLC.
Follow-up information was obtained either from hospital case records or from a questionnaire completed by the local chest physician or general practitioner or from death certificates. The overall survival defined as the time interval between the date of surgery and the date of death or the last follow-up visit for censored patients was the main outcome. No patient was lost at follow-up. Actuarial survival curves were estimated by the Kaplan–Meier method. Statistical comparisons among survival distributions were made using the log-rank test. Univariate analyses used the following explanatory covariates: age, sex, type of surgical resection, histology, pT and pN status, type of MLC (metachronous or synchronous), and histology (similar or not) between the primary lung cancer and the second one. Hazard ratios with their 95% confidence intervals were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. The cutoff probability value used for entering specific explanatory variables into the multivariate analysis was 0.05. The probability values were adjusted according to the multiplicity of tests using the Bonferroni method. Fisher's exact and
2 tests were used to estimate differences between MLC categories on clinical and pathologic variables previously described. All statistical tests were two-sided and assessed for significance at the 0.05 level. The statistical software used for the analysis was SEM (Anticancer Centre Jean Perrin, Clermont-Ferrand, France) [18].
| Results |
|---|
|
|
|---|
The type of resection for MMLC and SMLC patients was as follows: segmentectomy or wedge, 35 (30.2%) and 19 (16.1%); lobectomy 45 (38.8%) and 58 (49.2%); completion pneumonectomy or pneumonectomy 36 (31.0%) and 41 (34.7%), respectively (36 completion pneumonectomies were performed in MMLC patients). Postoperative complications were observed in 28.2% of patients (n = 66; 20 deaths were registered). Postoperative complications and mortality rates were 36.2% (42 of 116) and 12.8% (14 of 116) for MMLC, and 28.8% (34 of 118) and 5% (6 of 118) for SMLC, respectively.
Details of resections in MLCs subgroups are given in Table 1. Five-year survival rates after major resections were not different from those after lesser resections, whatever the N status (Fig 1). A major resection (pneumonectomy or completion pneumonectomy) was more frequently required in case of pN1 and pN2 involvement (44 of 77 versus 46 of 147; p = 0.00018).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Comment |
|---|
|
|
|---|
The histologic classification of MLCs was similar in 57.9% of patients, a frequency slightly above literature data (50.8% [3] and 54.9% [6]). However, there is an important discrepancy in the literature when considering both groups of MLCs. Histologic classification is similar in 25% to 72.2% of SMLC patients [2, 4, 5, 7, 20, 21] and in 34.4% to 70.5% of MMLC patients [2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 22], respectively. To have a better idea of the histology patterns, we added up the figures reported in these references: histologic classification was similar in 54.15% of MLC patients (300 of 554), 49.3% in case of SMLCs (70 of 142) and 57.1% in case of MMLCs (169 of 296). These results approaching ours illustrate that MLCs may be considered as metastases in more than half of patients. Synchronous MLCs are composed of different groups according to their anatomic location. Most of them are located in the ipsilateral lung, with a frequency ranging from 64.6% to 95.3% of patients [5, 11, 13, 22], which is similar with our data and probably related to the fact that most SMLCs are diagnosed during or after surgery [12, 13]. Ferguson and colleagues [21] observed a lower frequency (39.3%), but the MLCs were diagnosed before surgery in 23 of 28 patients. The incidence of SMLCs located in the same lobe ranges from 0% [20] to 86.8% [12]. In our series, they formed 52.3% of SMLC patients (n = 56; stage IIIB in Mountain's classification [17]).
The overall 5-year survival rates are commonly found to be between 23.4% and 37% for MMLC patients [2–5, 8–10], and between 0% to 20% for SMLC patients [2, 3, 6, 20]. This is in agreement with our results. The prognosis of SMLC, classified as either stage IIIB or stage IV, was not different from that of WPMLC classified as stage IIIB, which supports the proposal of classifying synchronous nodules as stage III in the IASLC lung cancer staging project [23]. Although our survival rates were slightly higher than 20%, the prognosis of the SMLC patients was significantly poorer than that of the MMLC patients. The main explanation for this difference was the frequency of involved lymph nodes among the SMLC patients. The survival rates were no longer any different when comparison was performed in the same pathologic N subgroups, which was also mentioned by Deschamps and colleagues [2]. Lymph node involvement was the main prognostic factor, which also appeared obvious in other reports concerning SMLCs [11, 13, 21].
Whether these lesions are metastases or not, our study tends to demonstrate that the prognosis is not related to histologic classification, which is also demonstrated by most authors [2, 4, 8, 10, 11, 20, 21]. However, Doddoli and colleagues [9] reported a tendency to a poorer outcome in patients with similar MMLC histologic classification when the time interval between surgery and the apparition of the first tumor was less than 2 years, and Aziz and colleagues [6] showed that patients with different MMLC histologic classification had a better prognosis. In their study, the 5-year survival rates were 51% in case of different histologic classification and 31% in case of similar histologic classification, which however is a good result for tumors that may be considered as metastases.
The 5-year survival rates of SMLC patients are higher when tumors are located in both lungs, which may be explained by a more selected lymph node disease-free subset of patients. Survival rates are better for SMLCs located in the same lobe than for those located in another ipsilateral lobe, which was also observed by Trousse and colleagues [11]. This difference may be related to more frequent N2 involvement and required pneumonectomy in the latter: the extent of the disease being also a reason that explained the lesser frequency of other surgical procedures. In our series, the SMLC patients with more than two nodules (13.1%) showed 5-year survival rates reaching 40% despite similar histologic classification in 64% of cases, a good result for MLCs more likely to be considered as metastases. In the literature, the frequency of those patients with three or more nodules ranges from 3.4% to 16.9% [2, 3, 11, 22]. Half of patients studied by Deschamps and colleagues [2] were also long survivors.
Deschamps and colleagues [2] stressed that an aggressive surgical approach is safe and warranted in most patients with MLCs even if the presence of SMLCs is ominous. This is supported by our study whether MLC are considered as second primary or as metastasis. In addition, Fukuse and colleagues [22] reported that patients with MLCs considered as metastases showed a significantly better prognosis compared with those with other organ, distant metastases. Changing the staging of the tumor and therefore its management by determining whether the second tumor represents a true independent primary or a metastasis is probably an important issue warranting further biologic research, but further surgical studies including MLC in genetic determination assays would be useful to precisely define potential subgroups with poorer prognosis. Regarding the relatively good prognosis encountered whatever the suspected nature, metastatic or not, of the second tumor, surgery actually still has to be seriously considered to manage this particular MLC entity.
| References |
|---|
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
P. Graziano, G. Cardillo, A. Mancuso, G. Paone, R. Gasbarra, F. De Marinis, and A. Leone Long-term Disease-Free Survival of a Patient With Synchronous Bilateral Lung Adenocarcinoma Displaying Different EGFR and C-MYC Molecular Characteristics Chest, November 1, 2011; 140(5): 1354 - 1356. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. K. Bae, C. S. Byun, C. Y. Lee, J. G. Lee, I. K. Park, D. J. Kim, and K. Y. Chung The Role of Surgical Treatment in Second Primary Lung Cancer Ann. Thorac. Surg., July 1, 2011; 92(1): 256 - 262. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. D. Moffatt-Bruce, P. Ross, M. E. Leon, G. He, S. D. Finkelstein, A. M. Vaida, O. H. Iwenofu, W. L. Frankel, and C. L. Hitchcock Comparative Mutational Profiling in the Assessment of Lung Lesions: Should It Be the Standard of Care? Ann. Thorac. Surg., August 1, 2010; 90(2): 388 - 396. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. Voltolini, C. Rapicetta, L. Luzzi, C. Ghiribelli, P. Paladini, F. Granato, M. Gallazzi, and G. Gotti Surgical treatment of synchronous multiple lung cancer located in a different lobe or lung: high survival in node-negative subgroup Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, May 1, 2010; 37(5): 1198 - 1204. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
B. E. Lee, J. L. Port, B. M. Stiles, J. Saunders, S. Paul, P. C. Lee, and N. Altorki TNM Stage Is the Most Important Determinant of Survival in Metachronous Lung Cancer Ann. Thorac. Surg., October 1, 2009; 88(4): 1100 - 1105. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. F. Gazdar and J. D. Minna Multifocal Lung Cancers--Clonality vs Field Cancerization and Does It Matter? J Natl Cancer Inst, April 15, 2009; 101(8): 541 - 543. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| ANN THORAC SURG | ASIAN CARDIOVASC THORAC ANN | EUR J CARDIOTHORAC SURG |
| J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG | ICVTS | ALL CTSNet JOURNALS |